In The Box
by DeletedAccountNotChangingMind
Summary: In the beginning, Zeus gave Pandora a box and told her to keep it closed. She opened the box and released evil into the world. It took everything 4 gods had to put it back. Now it's open again and it's time to see that it holds, not only evil, but hope.
1. Pandora's Box

**Disclaimer: No I do not own Inuyasha. That awesome privilage belongs to Romiko Takahashi. Thank you!**

...

**In The Box**

**By: Sombra112**

**Chapter 1: Pandora's Box**

Kagome took in a large breath and blew out as hard as she could. A large cloud of dust shot off the old, wooden box in her hands and into the air.

It was that time of year again.

Time to clean one of Gramps's storage sheds.

He had three and every year the family would clean one out. Washing, getting out cobwebs, and dusting. Lots and lots of dusting.

They only did this once a year because Gramps considered it a personal insult when they began cleaning. So they always had to do it very sneakily. It was Souta who had drawn the short straw of being the DD. Designated Distraction.

He took Gramps to the Tokyo Museum, something every one tried to avoid at all costs. Gramps was a sweet old guy, and with age comes wisdom, it was just Gramps seemed to like giving out way more wisdom than anyone wanted or needed. He would walk through the museum spending 10 to 15 minutes explaining each piece he saw. No doubt Souta was bored out of his mind.

And while he was doing that, Kagome and her mom were in charge of cleaning duty.

The three storage sheds on the property were larger than Kagome's bedroom and each one older than the last. This time they were cleaning the oldest of the batch. Kagome had been sick with tonsilitis the last time they had done this shed. Her mother had visited her in the hospital saying that she was sorry but Kagome was the DD. She was to keep Gramps there at the hospital with her until the cleaning was finished.

So Kagome had been subjected to Gramps wheezing about 'when I was your age...' stories while her voice was wrecked and her stomach moaning in misery from lack of food in preparation for the surgery.

When he got home to discover the cleaning they had done he had sworn not to get tricked again. Like he did every year.

And like every year, they managed to trick him.

This was the first time cleaning this building in 9 years for Kagome. As the oldest store house, it held the oldest and, to Gramps mostly, most treasured of the Higurashi shrine's ancient valubles. Kagome called it junk. Old junk, she admitted. But junk nonetheless.

Kagome wiped the dust that was too stubborn to let go of it's three year hold off the box and looked at the ancient seal placed on it.

"Mom!"

"Yeah!" her mother's sweet and happy voice called back. Kagome loved listening to her mom talk. When she was little she had often asked for stories from her mother, not for the tale itself, but just to listen to the soothing voice her mom had. She was a beautiful singer and could have been famous but wanted nothing more than to tend to her house and her children. So that was what she did.

"What's in this old box?" Kagome yelled back, turning the wooden box that had been tied shut with rope that looked as old as the box itself. It looked like it had been a perfect square once but time had smoothed and rounded out the edges.

Her mother laughed and her head appeared in the doorway. "You have to be much more spacific than that when in your grandfather's shed, dear."

Kagome also loved to look at her mother. She had a sort of...classic beauty. Simple and yet...there was just some thing about her. Her hair was shiney black and cropped short at her ears. The pictures of her when she was younger showed long, flowing hair. Kind of like Kagome's but straighter. She said she cut it off after Kagome was born. Kids were easier to deal with when one had short hair that couldn't be pulled or get gum stuck into or get thrown up on or any other equally nasty things children can't help but do. Her brown eyes had a certain sparkle to them and a kindness that even the most hard hearted could't help but feel safe in.

Kagome, who was told often how pretty she was, knew her looks were different. Her looks were more vibrant than her mothers. Her eyes sparkled more and she just couldn't achieve that thoughtless grace her mom had.

"This one." Kagome held it out to her. It wasn't a large box. It couldn't have been bigger than Kagome's torse, length or width wise. And it was only about a foot deep.

"Hmm....I'm not sure." Her mother said walking into the dimness of the room and taking it from her. "It hardly weighs anything." she said holding it easily with one hand. She shook it gently by her ear but it didn't make a sound.

"It's probably a....sacred..._cat _from the....fuedal era or something." Kagome said knowing her grandfather.

Her mother laughed. "Most likely, dear. However don't throw it away. Remember the last time we threw some thing your grandfather said was precious away."

Kagome laughed at the memory. "He buried himself in the garbage to look for it." Kagome said. It had been a tiny vase, broken and cracked and without a lid, and Kagome and her mom decided that it was a dust collector they didn't need so away it went. Gramps had gone crazy when he found out. Looked through the trash like his life depended on it he did. Finally found the little vase that was no bigger than his withered hands and nearly cried with relief.

Kagome laughed and took the damp rag from her pocket to wipe away the thin layer of grime and held out her hand to take it back.

"Be careful of the seal, dear." her mother said giving it to her. "I know you believe it's superstition and I guess I do too, but dad swears up and down that a seal isn't placed on some thing for no good reason. Better leave it undamaged and save him a heart attack."

Kagome laughed and wiped, careful to keep the rag away from the thin piece of old rice paper. Then she wiped down the piece of shelf it had sat on before carefully replacing it in it's spot.

The next item was an urn, sealed and made of old clay, that she knew held the ashes of one of her ancestors.

"Hello great..." she paused to read the name engraved on the side, "....grandpa. Nothing special going on, just a quick shower." She blew the top layer of dust off him then whiped him down. She wiped his spot on the shelf, replaced him, then dunked her rag in the warm water in a bucket beside her.

It was a process a little too familiar to her. Wipe, wipe, replace, dunk, repeat.

It's not that Kagome didn't have a certain degree of respect for her past, she did. She lived on a shrine, it was hard _not_to have respect for the past. She just wasn't as obsessed with it as Gramps. She saw no reason to keep an old broken vase that had no value and no purpose that was all.

She finished the shelf she was working on the stepped outside to get the step-stool to start on the next shelf up.

While she was dusting the inside, her mother was outside, airing out rugs and replacing the water bucket and stacking the objects that had been piled on the floor so they could clean it. The door was wide open to let some fresh air in and move the stale air out. Still Kagome would cough because of the dust she kept disturbing.

"Kagome, dear."

She turned to see her mother had walked back in and was standing next to a large chest at the very back of the shed. "Can you help me move this. It's so heavy."

"Sure." Kagome hopped off her stool and put her rag in her back pocket. She took a second to dust off her jean shorts, her oldest pait with paint stains, and her gray sweatshirt, also with paint stains and a few grease and other kitchen stains, before walking to the other side of the chest.

"What's in this thing?" Kagome asked looking it over. It came up to her mid-thigh and was older than the box she had held before. The wood was dull and slightly rotten. There was not one, but three sealing scrolls on it. One on the front and one on each side. It also had been tied shut with rope but it had also been locked with a very old lock that probably didn't have a key anymore.

"I don't know." her mother wiped her sweaty brow and looked at it. "Dad seems to know though. He always comes in this shed once a week to check this thing. Make sure the seals are in place, that the wood isn't too rotted. He seems determined to keep it shut."

Kagome laughed and bent down with her mother. "Ready and...ugh!"

"Ugh!" Kagome repeated as the weight of the chest fell on her arms. "What the...heck is...in here?" she groaned as they hobbled to the door.

"Who knows?" her mother asked as they turned to the side so they could fit through the door.

They made it outside and Kagome began kicking up dirt from dragging her feet. "This thing weighs a ton!" she complained as they dropped it next to the other boxes and chests and other acient things her mother had stacked.

Kagome fell on her butt as her mother laughed.

"I hate cleaning day." she said tilting her head back to take in the sunshine that she had missed being in the shed so long.

"We better hurry." her mother said checking her watch. "I don't know how long Souta can keep daddy distracted."

Kagome laughed. "Please, mom. They're at a museum. We'll be lucky to see them at closing time."

* * *

"And this, Souta, is a sword from the beginning of the Meiji Era." Gramps said looking at the katana in the glass case.

"Really?" Souta asked wondering how Gramps managed to make revolution and bloodshed sound more dull than kitchen duty.

"This katana here was owned by the Hitokiri Battosai." Gramps continued still gazing at the shimmering blade. "He was an assassin who slaughtered thousands of..."

Souta sighed quietly and tried not to fall asleep where he stood.

* * *

Kagome stretched after replacing the last item on the shelves. "And done!" she said happily looking at the nice, ordered, no longer dusty and grimy, shelves.

Gramps would be so pissed when he got home.

"Nice job Kagome." her mother walked in holdinga box in her arms. They had begun replacing the old boxes.

"Thanks. Need help with that chest again?"

"If you wouldn't mind." Her mother sat the box she held down. She looked outside at the dark sky then at her watch. "It's past closing time. Dad and Souta should be..."

"What's this?!"

Kagome and her mother both laughed at the outraged old voice.

"What have you two done?!"

"Easy, Gramps. You know what time of year it is." Souta said finally getting the pleasure of saying 'gotcha', the only good thing about being the DD.

The girls walked out to see Gramps on his knees looking at the stuff stacked outside, dust free and disturbed from their normal positions. Unlike the rest of the family, Gramps prefered wearing a traditional Japanese priest guard. Gray and white, bland and old. That's how Kagome described it. His beard was gray, his hair was gray, and his skin was wrinkled, a normal old person one could say.

Souta, her ten year old brother, shared the black hair of the rest of the family. He liked soccer, his girlfriend Hitomi, and his PS3. He was wearing jeans and and orange t-shirt with a thick green stripe in the middle.

"Come on, Kagome." Her mom said walking over to the chest. There was no point in keeping it from him now because he wanted it moved back anyway.

Gramps stood up and covered the chest with his body in a move that was surprisingly agile for such an old man.

"Be careful with this!" He said. Niether girl stopped from bending over and picking up the chest. It was heavier now but Gramps was an old man and didn't weigh much so he just hung off the chest while glaring at them. "Don't you dare break this chest. This is Pandora's Box!"

"Pandora's Box?" Kagome laughed as Souta ran over and helped lift it from the back. "What do you mean?"

Gramps turned his glare to her. "Even you should know what Pandora's Box is, Kagome." His glare faded as his eyes closed and he got that I'm-going-to-tell-a-long-drawn-out-yet-historically-important-story look. "In Greek mythology, Pandora was entrusted from Zeus with a box. In this box was all the evils of the world. Pandora, in her curiosity, opened the box and let evil out into the world. This is that box!"

"Hear that, Souta?" Kagome said looking at her brother while they squeezed through the door. "We've been keeping all the evils of the world in our backyard shed."

Souta laughed with her making Gramps glare again. "Laugh if you wish but it took the power of four different gods to put the evil back and it cost them their lives."

"Sure, Gramps." Souta and Kagome said at the same time as they set the chest, and Gramps, down.

"It did!" He said, sitting up to check to make sure the chest was still sealed. "The god of courage and fire, the god of wisdom and air, the god of strength and earth, and the god of healing and water. Together, with all their power combined, they managed to...HEY! Where are you three going?!"

Mom, Kagome, and Souta, too used to Gramps's stories, had already left the shed to begin putting the other things in.

He grumbled at them and began inspecting the chest.

"NO!" he cried out.

"Dad!"

"Gramps!

"Gramps, what's wrong!?" His family ran back in at his cry.

"The seal!" he pointed at the front seal which was hanging limply from the chest with only the bottom still attached. "I must fix this at once!"

Kagome and Souta rolled their eyes and returned to their chore as their mom laughed silently.

Gramps took some seals from the inside of his white robe and held them between his fingers. He prayed as he put his spiritual power into them then slapped all three on the front of the chest. Then he moved the older once back up, carefully as it might fall apart, and put another sutra on it to hold it on.

"There. That should hold it." He stood up and puffed his chest out importantly.

"Mom, can we have chicken for dinner?" Souta asked smiling at her.

"Sure, dear." she nodded as Gramps's shoulders slumped. "You and Kagome finish this and I'll get started. Coming, dad?"

"Yeah, yeah." He crossed his arms and followed them mumbling something about his actions being unappreciated.

* * *

"Mushin! Mushin!" Miroku sighed impatiently as he shook his guardian.

"Jun tik I poon dien..." the old drunk slurred.

Miroku groaned and lifted the half passed out man off the couch. "When will you learn to speak a language when your drunk?" He asked moving the old man through the empty house.

Mushin, thought overweight, could still be lifted and toted around by his young ward. Which was good because Mushin loved to drink. Miroku didn't blame him. He had watched Miroku's father die before his eyes and had needed some way to cope. He took in Miroku, took care of him, raised him, and every other night got shit faced drunk. Miroku was used to it.

"_Parley-vous français?"_

"It's _Parlez-vous français_." Miroku corrected.

"_Oui, monsieur!" _Mushin cried happily.

Miroku sighed deeply as he pushed the door open at Mushin's room.

Miroku loved Mushin dearly. He was the only parent Miroku had known since he was 6. He never met his mother and his father had died in a gas station robbery. After watching his best friend die, and seeing Miroku was now an orphan, he had taken him in. He was the one who had been there for Miroku through all the hard steps to reach manhood, or at least 17, safely. Sure he was an alcoholic but Miroku knew he needed something to keep his sanity and he had never failed Miroku when he needed him.

He laid the old man on his bed and covered him up as best he could. Mushin mumbled something but Miroku couldn't understand and his eyes were closing as he was falling asleep.

Miroku shook his head and looked outside.

The sky was full of large, ugly purple storm clouds.

"Going to be a big one." Miroku said closing the blinds so the light wouldn't blind the old man when he woke up.

* * *

Sango laughed as she rolled the ball of yarn around.

Her pretty cat Kirara chased it, trying her hardest to snag the trailing end of the ball. Kirara had a nice, thick, beige coat with a ring of black around her tail and paws and tipping her ears. She was Sango's dearest love in life.

"Sango! Are you doing your homework!?" Her father asked yelling at her from the base of the stairs.

"Yes!" Sango yelled back.

She grabbed Kirara and began tickling her belly making Kirara grab at her hands with her claws still retracted so as not to hurt her master.

Sango laughed and picked up her cat. Kirara had been with Sango for as long as she cared to remember. She brought her close to her chest and pet her making her purr.

Sango's bright brown eyes danced as she looked at the thing she loved most next to her family. Her long brown hair was still wet from her shower and in the background she could hear the rush of water telling her that her younger brother was taking his.

A loud clash of thunder echoed and drew Sango's eyes to her window.

"There's a storm coming Kirara."

Kirara meowed and nuzzled Sango's hand as if telling her that she had stopped petting her and she had not given her permission to do so.

Sango laughed and resumed.

* * *

"Ooh. Nice one!" Inutaisho said as thunder shook the glass in their windows.

"A typhoon?" Sesshomaru asked looking out the window.

Inuyasha shrugged. "Who cares?"

Izayoi, his mother, looked up from her romance book. "We better close the storm doors."

"All right, dear." Inutaisho kissed her head. "You heard her boys. Get to work!"

Inuyasha grumbled but got up from the couch.

Sesshomaru looked out the window for a second more before closing the storm guard so if the glass broke in the storm it wouldn't shatter inside.

Inuyasha closed the one over the door as a flash of lightning illuminated the edges.

It was going to be big! He smirked. Inuyasha loved storms.

* * *

"Doors and window guards are closed." Kagome said walking back in the living room.

"Thank you, dear." her mother said changing the TV channel from the weather to the soccer game Souta had so wanted to watch.

"In my day..."

"Thank you, daddy." she cut him off. "We know all about it though."

He made a sound like, "Humph!" and crossed his arms stubbornly.

Kagome sat down next to her mom as the sound of rain hitting the roof began.

* * *

Deep in the oldest storage shed of the Higurashi shrine a very old, very worn, sealing scroll fell off an older chest.

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	2. Changes

**Disclaimer: No I do not own Inuyasha. That awesome privilage belongs to Romiko Takahashi. Thank you!**

...

**Chapter 2: Change**

In the sky, clouds whirled. Dark, ominous, and heavy. They were the forboding purple black of a new, and still very painful, bruise. Every so often a rough and craggy flash of pure light flashed across the sky. Bringing a temporary brightness in it's white hot path. These flashes were accompanied by loud booms. Strong and deafening, they roared in the sky causing the living beneath them to cower and shake.

Every storm has a center. A place of origin.

So did this one.

From the center it began and spread it's thick, smothering cover over miles of land. The center was Higurashi Shrine.

This storm was not a natural one. The lightning came when called followed by it's brother, thunder. Rain slammed onto the ground below, soaking everything it touched because it was commanded to do so. The clouds gathered and swirled over the sacred shrine dancing to the piping of its master.

Lighting, thunder clashed together getting steadily closer to the area.

The lightning was long and deadly and when it struck its aim was true and fatal.

It crashed and boomed and hit the oldest shed on the Higurashi property. Its blow was perfect and true and hit the center of an old chest where the storm's master lay.

The chest was surrounded by fire. Pure, burning white hot and tearing the seals power away. The metal lock on the chest turn red hot and melted. And the chest wasn't touched at all.

The fire burned down, the white flames extinguishing themselves before fading away. The only proof of their existence was the ash and still red metal lump on the ground and a large hole in the ceiling.

The chest rattles once.

Twice.

Then slowly, as if it were unsure, the chest opened.

* * *

"That sounded so close." Mama Higurashi said uncovering her ears.

That last clap of thunder sounded as if it had come from right next to them.

"What just happened?" Souta asked through the darkness.

The lights had gone out.

"Gramps, are you okay?" Kagome asked.

In return she heard a slight snicker, "I knew being partially deaf would pay off one day."

The family groaned but each one smiled.

Without any warning it all, the world felt as if it had dropped from beneath their feet.

Mama Higurashi shrieked, Souta and Gramps cried out, and Kagome was thrown off the couch.

"An earthquake?" Souta asked his voice laced with fear.

"What's happening?" Kagome asked as the world bucked again.

* * *

A great evil laughed in triumph as it's great power escaped from the box and flew out in the wind.

"**_Go my children. Infect everyone. Spread your darkness into this world again."_**

The voice that spoke was quiet and calm, yet ancient and powerful.

Evil escaped the shed, spreading like the clouds above their heads into the world that had known its power before and had fled in terror.

But left inside the box, after all the evil had escaped, was hope.

A small ball of light, no bigger than a soccer ball, lifted from the chest and flashed in darkness's wake.

The ball split into four and shot away from each other.

* * *

"Kirara? Kirara, what's wrong?" Sango asked.

She had been trying to sleep, hard to do with such a loud storm going on outside, when Kirara started hissing and spitting and glaring out the window. She sat up in bed and looked at her side where her precious cat, normally so tame and sweet, was acting like something out of Pet Cemetary.

Kirara made a noise Sango could only connect to a growl.

Sango looked out her window.

"What is that?" She asked feeling slightly afraid.

It was creeping in her room yet she couldn't tell you what it was.

It looked like that strange bending of air when it was hot outside. Heat waves.

Yet, as it crept closer, Sango got colder. Not just a flesh chilling cold, but a soul freezing cold. Her breath became visible and she snatched Kirara up and pushed herself against the wall.

"DAD!" Sango called and grabbed the blanket off her bed. She tried to blow the wave away but it passed through the cloth as if it weren't there.

"DAD!" she screamed again.

She looked out her window in time to see a bright ball of light shoot in from outside and slam into her chest.

Sango cried out and the pain made her drop Kirara back onto the bed.

Taking the opportunity as it was presented, the darkness covered the hissing and spitting Kirara.

She began scratching herself and squirming.

Sango collapsed onto her bed just as Kirara's legs gave out.

* * *

Miroku stretched and sighed. He enjoyed listening to the radio while he slept and of course the power would go out so he couldn't.

"This is ridiculous." he said unhappily.

He had no warning.

He closed his eyes for a second, hoping to be able to fall asleep without his tunes, when a bright ball of light flew into the room and hit him full on the chest.

He had no air to cry out with but his back arched in pain.

A moment later he was unconscious and looked exactly like he was asleep.

* * *

"I mean it young man!"

"Yes mom." Inuyasha said getting up out of his bed.

"This room is awful. I want it spotless" Izayoi said as Inuyasha began picking up his dirty clothes.

She left him and he dropped the clothes he was holding and fell back into bed.

He turned his head and forgot that he couldn't see out of his window because it was covered.

His brows furrowed as his vision bent as if he were looking at heat waves.

"What is that?" He asked himself quietly as goose-bumps appeared on his skin.

A cup of water, two days old, began to freeze on his bed side table. Inuyasha jumped out of bed and looked at the slow moving haze. A part of him, an instinctual part, told him that this was _thing_, whatever it was,was not meant for him to be messing with.

"Inuyasha, I'm coming over there and you better be cleaning that room."

"Mom." He whispered.

She couldn't be near that dangerous thing.

He turned around and ran to the door and slammed it shut.

"Inuyasha! Inuyasha, what are you doing!? Open this door! Inuyasha!"

Inuyasha kept a firm grip on the handle and turned around.

The wave had gotten closer.

"Mom, get out of here!" Inuyasha yelled. That thing could travel through the storm guard on his window the door would be no problem.

"What is it? Inuyasha, what's wrong?" His mother picked up the worry in his voice. "Inuyasha!"

He cried out as the wave touched his skin. It was freezing to the point of burning his flesh.

"Inuyasha!" His mother screamed.

The pain was overwhelming but a need to save his mother kept his other hand firm on the handle even as the pain traveled up his arm and into his chest.

He screamed from the pain.

Then a bright orb shot into the room and slammed full speed into his chest.

He was thrown against the door and he cried out again. He heard his mother calling his name but his vision was going gray and she sounded as if she was trying to speak to him from the other end of a long tunnel.

* * *

Kagome screamed as the earth continued to shift.

Her eyes were tight shut so she didn't see the orb of light fly through the roof and slam into her back.

She screamed, this time from pain, and arched her back.

"Kagome!" Her mother ran to her side just as she collapsed.

* * *

Deep in the belly of solitary confinement a man sat, staring up at the ceiling.

When the wave came to his room, he laughed, sending puffs white air into the cold room.

"I'm yours." he said quietly.

The wave descended on him and he took it all in, the pain and hurt, with a smile on his face.

x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x


	3. Half

**Disclaimer: No I do not own Inuyasha. That awesome privilage belongs to Romiko Takahashi. Thank you!**

...

**Chapter 3: Half**

**Two years later....**

The city rotted.

Like dead flesh, it decomposed. Buildings were dark. Glass was shattered and the air held the stench of neglect and decay. Roads were destroyed and the buildings that were still standing had deep gouges from big or particularly sharp claws.

Silence, however, was not a part of this almost ghost like city. Howls, cries, shrieks, groans, all pierced the silence like needles.

The sun was never as bright as it been when it came out from behind what seemed like a constant cover clouds and fog. The scent of blood was a constant presence, so much so the occupants hardly noticed it anymore.

For there were occupants in this seemingly empty city.

They just perfered to stay hidden from each other.

It was more than just a city of demons, it was a world of them.

Large demons who made mountains tremble with their footsteps and small demons that ensnared the senses and destroyed the body. What had once been order was now chaos. Cars rusted, empty and abandoned, in the streets, most of them crushed or torn apart by the demons fighting.

So what had happened to the humans?

Gone.

All of them.

Gone.

Those that the evil hadn't infected were quickly killed by the ones who were.

It was a horror movie. A horror movie that had no ending.

That was how Kagome saw it.

She was alone and had been since that night.

When she had woken up again nothing was the same.

She had been alone in her living room with no sign of her mother, brother, or grandfather. Except for a large hole where her living room wall had been. She had walked up to it, scared and shaking, and saw into a world that had just entered chaos.

Demons had been roaring and tearing each other to shreds. Fighting and killing with no sence of friend or foe.

It had taken Kagome months realize that the humans who had once inhabited this world were now the very demons she cowered from.

As far as she knew, she was the last human left and she had no idea what saved her from the horrible fate that was delivered to the rest of humanity.

At least, not until a few months ago.

It hadn't struck her as odd that she always woke up. Most demons waiting until you were asleep before attacking, after all, that was when you were most volnerable. But Kagome always woke up safe and sound. It never seemed weird that when she found herself cornered, hiding, and praying from a demon that she was never found or killed. It never entered her mind that there was something special about her even though she was unaffected by the evil that had warped the rest of her species.

Until a few months ago.

She had been walking through Tokyo Tower, hoping to find food or a safe place to sleep. Both were very hard to come by nowadays. That was when she had met a snake demon who's nest she had unknowingly walked into.

He hadn't been happy about her invading his home and decided to show her by sinking his fangs into her while she was unaware.

So when Kagome was going through the cupboards, he slithered silently behind her and struck.

When he met a large blinding white barrier. His hiss of pain had Kagome turning around in time to see the barrier fade again.

She had watched as the snake thrashed in pain in fury before trying to strike again. She had backed up against the wall uselessly but again the same white shield protected her. This time the snake demon was killed.

After her heart had calmed down and the adrenalin had stopped flowing so quickly through her veins, she had realized that she was surrounded by a barrier.

Since then, she had made Tokyo Tower her home and any demon that had tried to take it from her had found themselves fried by her barrier.

She still had to leave every now and again to raid the surrounding area for supplies. Luckily for her, demons didn't seem to like human food other than meat. So she was able to take and enjoy all the canned foods she could find.

That's where she was now, wondering through a, hopefully, empty grocery store, raiding the canned food isles.

She had on a pair of ripped jeans she had found about a month ago in a mall she had barely dared to enter and a gray-ish shirt that she thought matched concrete rather well. Her scent was unmistakably human, she knew that, but some demons had bad eyesight and she tried to blend with her surroundings. She had on a worn pair of sneakers and socks that went to her knees, also concrete colored. On her head, covering her hair, was a gray beanie that she had had in her room before the disaster.

It was her sneakers that had driven her out of her home this time. The soles were nearly gone and they had been ripped and disfigered by the hard ware she put them through so she needed to get new ones.

While she was out she decided to stop and get some more food even though she had enough to last her another three days.

Quickly and quietly, she grabbed cans from the shelf and stacked them into the large over the shoulder backpack that rested on her hip. It was durable and big so she found it perfect for food runs.

When it was three fourths of the way full, she zipped it shut and moved on into the store.

Her own senses were hightened, looking for anything that might have changed since she had been here last.

She had raided all the gas stations around the tower and this place was her newest food supply. She had only been here a few tims times.

Once to check for demons. Twice to make sure there were absolutely no demons. Three times to add booby traps so she would know if any demons moved in. Then she had trusted it enough to begin shopping there.

They were simple things, things just meant to tell her they had been disturbed.

There was a clothing rack in the mens department, a place spider demons liked being, that was surrounded by a ring of salt. She checked it to make sure it wasn't out of place. In isle three where the oils were, she had created an artificial oil spill that was nearly clear on the ground but was obvious when something had walked, or slipped, through it. She had placed tiny rocks and pebbles around in certain areas, always on the cross created by four corners of linoleum, that she could check to see if they had been knocked out of palce. And more.

Only after all her traps were checked did she begin her shopping trip.

Right now she was heading toward the chemical isle. Something she had noticed in her fight for survival was that demon noses were especially sensative. Harsh chemicals and the like were very effective at turning all but the most determined away.

So along side her food went bleach, amonia, and varies other cleaning sprays and liquids.

After that was done she started to leave the store and froze in the chip isle

Something was wrong. Off. She couldn't place her finger on it but something on this isle was different.

While running for your life, you find your insticts for survival are much stronger than you realize. Simple things that had always just been a part of you were suddenly obvious in your body's need for them.

This instict for example.

When you went into a place enough you unconciously noted the place of everything and if you did it enough you memorized it subconciously. So when something about the area changed, even something as simple as a picture being removed from the wall, your brain knew it and alerted you of a possible predator.

It was this technique that made her freeze and look around.

Mostly she ate canned food, it was safer. Chips went bad and the bags were too easily penetrated by demon poison, so the chip isle was relatively untouched. By her.

Something had been there and she knew it.

Her eyes scanned the area carefully, looking for the descrepency in the place that her brain remembered.

There was no electricity in this world so all she could look through was her own eyes or a flashlight that she hated using because it was too easily spotted.

So her eyes scanned the darkness that was only slightly lifted by the light coming in from skylights placed at regular intervals in the ceiling. She never went out at night.

There.

The last row had been desturbed.

The chips had all been packed close together and pushed against the front of the three foot deep shelf.

A demon was hiding there. Waiting for some one to walk past before it struck no doubt.

It wasn't impossible that it missed her traps and detections, especially if it was a smaller demon.

Under different circumstances, she would have backed up slowly and abonded the place. But this was her store and she needed her food supply. So there was no option. She had to get rid of the demon.

Slowly, she reached into her still open bag and felt around for a very familiar bottle. Different chemicals worked well on different demons but one chemical Kagome had found to repel nearly all demons was bleach.

She took it from her bag and turned the nozzle to ON. Then she sprayed it a few times to bring the liquid to the top. All without her eyes leaving the chips.

As soon as the first spray entered the air she saw the bags move slightly.

Kagome lifted the spray bottle and pointed it at the chips. "Come out of there. Now."

They moved again but who ever was there stayed hidden.

"I mean it." She said firmly. "One shot of this stuff in your eyes and you're blind. In your mouth and you're dead." Which wasn't neccissarily true. Sometimes it took an entire jug of bleach to kill a demon but hopefully this demon wouldn't know that.

The chips moved again, this time two of them parted and a pair of glowing gold eyes looked out at her.

"You smell like a human."

Kagome took a step back in surprise.

It wasn't because the demon spoke. Demons seemed to delight in telling her that they were about to rip the flesh from her bones or drink her fluids or some other equally gross and, after a while, boring threat. But those demons voices were all something dug out from her deepest nightmares and made real. This voice was obviously human.

"You _sound _like a human." Kagome countered trying to pull her wits back. A demon she hadn't encountered before perhaps?

The golden eyes narrowed at her. "So do you."

The voice was male, deep and strong, if a bit suspicious.

"Get out of there." Kagome said again not lowering her bottle of bleach but her voice was considerably calmer. There had never been a demon who hadn't immediatly tried to eat her before.

There was a moment of stillness as the demon considered her demand. Then the chips were pushed out onto the floor and the guy crawled out and stood up and looked her over much like she was doing to him.

A dog demon. She had encountered these before though the ones she had seen were extremely different than the one who looked at her now. The biggest difference was this one was shaped like a human. He had dog ears on his head and the long mane of hair that flowed gracefully down his back was like moonlight on snow. That and his burning golden eyes were what told her he was a dog demon. However he looked no older than her and was clearly human. With a hat he wouldn't have stood out in a crowd.

He was wearing a worn and faded pair of black, baggy jeans with a chain from his left side to his back. He had no shoes and no shirt but he did have a necklace around his neck but Kagome couldn't see what the tiny gold chain and pendant was from this distance.

"What kind of demon are you?" she asked. He was too human to be a demon yet too demon to be human. It made her confused just looking at him.

"Dog. Half anyway. What about you?" His voice was distrustful and his eyes wary.

"Half?" Kagome repeated eyeing him cautiously. "What do you mean half? Your either demon or your not."

"I'm not demon." He said firmly. "I'm not human either. I'm half. What about you? Did you steal that flesh from a human? It doesn't smell dead."

Kagome's eyes narrowed. "This is _my_ flesh, thank you. And I am human. Full human."

"Lucky you." he said almost sadly. "Do you have a name?"

Kagome blinked in surprise.

"What?" he asked when she just stared.

"No demon has ever talked to me rationally before." she said in awe.

"Keh. I'm not demon, remember? I'm half." he rolled his eyes. He stared at her again for a minute then sighed. "Would you feel better if I gave you my name first?"

When she didn't speak he continued. "My name's Inuyasha. Nice to meet you." He walked forward with his hand outstretched.

"Wait!" she called making him freeze.

"What?" he asked looking around and sniffin for whatever caused the outburst.

"Don't get near me." she warned.

Inuyasha rolled his eyes again. "Keh. If I wanted to kill you I would have done it already."

"No, that's not..."

"Shh!" he said suddenly turning around.

"What?" she whispered looking for the source of his alarm.

"Demon." he said simply making Kagome's own senses try to smell or hear the appraoching danger.

"What kind?" she asked quietly.

He sniffed the air. "Just an ogre. He must have caught your scent here."

"Where is he?" Kagome asked replacing the bleach and pulling out a bottle of Windex. Ogres hated Windex.

"I can't tell. He's a stinky one."

Kagome snorted. "They're all stinky."

He suddenly turned and called out, "Behind you!"

Kagome turned as well and instictively brought up her Windex.

But when she tried to pull the trigger, nothing happened. She hadn't turned the nozzle on and there was a great, ugly, maroon colored ogre with gleaming yellow eyes running right at her.

"Watch out!"

Inuyasha grabbed her waist and spun her around behind him and lifted his claws up. "Bring it, ugly!"

Kagome watched as Inuyasha charged the demon and ran his claws down his arm making the ogre cry out in pain.

_**"You will pay for that, half-ling." **_he growled and lifted the other arm. Both of his arms looked too long for his body and his knuckles dragged on the floor. Inuyasha jumped out of the way but he wasn't fast enough to avoid the large claws that grazed his side and drew blood in three paralell lines.

Working quickly, Kagome turned the nozzle to on and sprayed it until the glass cleaner sprayed out.

She turned the nozzle again until it wasn't mist but a jet.

"Hey!" she called to the ogre. "Ugly!"

The ogre turned to her. Kagome was ready and squeezed the Windex sending a stream into the air.

The ogre yelled and jumped back, avoiding the solution.

_**"Wench. You'll die as well."**_

"Not today!" Inuyasha cried leaping up at him. His claws were like sharpened steal cutting through butter as he made a large, four lined, slash across the ogres chest.

The ogre cried out and fell back against the floor, his dark orange blood spilling onto the ground.

"Come on, let's get out of here." Kagome said running forward and grabbing Inuyasha's arm.

"Huh. Why?" He asked as she pulled against his with all her strength. She might as well have been trying to pull a two story building.

"Ogres travel in packs." She said. "We need to get out before his family comes sniffing around."

"Keh." Was all Inuyasha said but he followed her out of the store and onto the street.

Kagome peered around, like a child about to cross a street, before turning ot the left and walking quickly away.

"Where are we going?" he asked letting her lead him with a hand on his arm. She was the first person he had been able to talk to without exchanging threats in two years. He was lonely.

"Tokyo Tower." she said turning this way and that with the Windex still tight in her hand.

"Go there often?" he asked curiosly not bothering to keep watch like she was. He would smell a demon long before it aproached.

"I live there." she said heading for the great red and white spire that struck into the sky.

Inuyasha chuckled. "Take strange demons home often?"

Kagome smirked. "Half."

He laughed at having his own come back thrown at him.

"Well, do you take strange people home often?"

"Only when they can get close to me." she said crossing what used to be a busy intersection.

"Aww...You like me already?"

Kagome laughed. "I meant physically."

"I'm not one to turn down that kind of fun but, honey I just met you." he said making her laugh again.

"There's a barrier around me." she explained as they passed dark stores that Kagome felt no need to enter. "Demons can't get close. Or no demon that has tried to harm me can. I figure if the barrier let you near me you wouldn't harm me."

"'if the barrier let me'?" Inuyasha asked. "You say that like it's out of your control."

"It is." she said simply as the entrance to the Tower loomed ahead of them.

"Does this mean I can have your name now? Or should I just call you human? Not like anyone else would answer." It was grim but true humor.

Kagome smiled back at him. "My name's Kagome. It's nice to meet you."

"You have no idea how nice it is to meet you." Inuyasha said back feeling more than grateful at meeting another person.

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	4. Too Much

**Disclaimer: No I do not own Inuyasha. That awesome privilage belongs to Romiko Takahashi. Thank you!**

...

**Chapter 4: Too Much**

Kagome threw her head back and laughed out loud. She was holding an open can of peaches in her hands, totally forgetting about it because she was so enthralled in Inuyasha's story.

"So....haha...so he says..." Inuyasha said around his own chuckling, "he says, his voice got deep and he says, 'I'm going to KILL you half breed!'! And I'm standing there thinking, 'thanks for telling me. Whew, I thought you were going to invite me to tea or something'. You started out so good, you know; sneaking up behind me, masking your scent, moving too quite to hear. Then he ruins it all by jumping up and_ announcing_ to the world that he's going to kill me."

Kagome laughed with him because she had been through many of the same things.

There was a fire crackling on the concrete she had revealed by ripping up the linoleum of the floor. It was providing light and heat for them now that the sun had set. On one side of the fire was, what Inuyasha called, The Leaning Tower of Cans and on the other was the matress she slept on each night. It looked rumpled and unmade because she hadn't made it since she got it. Next to the bed was a pile of scrap wood that Kagome planned to burn. Salvaged from it by Inuyasha, was an acoustic guitar which he had in his lap while his claws plucking carefully at the strings as he tried to get it in tune.

Next to him were three opened and empty cans from his dinner. One had been ravioli, the other corn, and the last one cranberry sauce. He ate alot but he was company and she felt it more than worth the price of extra food. Plus, as a half whatever he was, he was stronger than her so that had added security. And if her loneliness had been driving her mad, she took comfort that his had as well.

"Yeah. I never understood why demons feel the need to tell you what they're about to do. Especialy when their right behind you." Kagome said looking into her can. "You want this? I'm full."

"Sure." Inuyasha said taking it from her.

She was sitting on her bed with her shoes off, comfortable and content. Inuyasha had sat down right in front of it with his back leaning against the five inch rise it made against the ground.

"Ah-ha!" he said triumphantly as he plucked the string again.

"It's sound exactly the same as the last three times you plucked it." Kagome laughed as he speared a peach half and shoved it into his mouth getting juice down his chin.

"Maybe to you." Inuyasha said running his claw down all the strings that he had so carefully tuned. "Trust me, there is nothing more evil than an out of tune note when your hearing is this good. I always used to wonder what having perfect pitch would be like. It's a pain in the ass."

Kagome smiled and laid down so he head was on the pillow and she could see Inuyasha from his other side. "What was your life like? You know, before."

Inuyasha didn't speak for a minute. Just continued to pluck the strings in a simple and slightly bittersweet melody. It was nice to hear music after so long in silence. "I was a normal teenager. Struggling in math, avoiding cleaning my room, thinking I was going to be the next great rock star. I loved my mom, though you would have never heard me admit it, my brother got on my nerves and God how I miss him now. My father was a hard worker, trying to make everything right for his family. Then it happened. I woke up and..." he sighed, "and I was alone. My house was empty, my family was gone, and I was like _this_." he looked down at his half naked body and sighed. "What about you?"

Kagome shrugged. "Same, mostly. In lived up on Higurashi Shrine..."

"That shrine on that huge hill?" he inturupted.

"Yeah. Have you heard of it?" she asked wondering at his reaction.

"Hell yeah. No wonder you abondoned the place." he said. "Demons love fighting over that hill. It's a favorite spot to live."

"Why?" she asked, her brow furrowing.

He shrugged. "Who knows? He who lives on big hill is big kahuna? I guess. Just because I'm part demon doesn't mean I think like one."

Kagome sighed. Sure she had left her home but she didn't like the idea of demons constantly desiring it for their own.

He saw the look on her face and frowned. "If you want, I could go and fight to get it back for you."

Kagome smiled saddly. "Thanks but no thanks. It's just a building. No point in hurting yourself." It got quite with only Inuyasha's soft music in the background. "Would you really do that for me?"

He smiled and his tune picked up tempo. "For the first friend I've spoken to in 2 years; sweetie, I would dismantle this place if you asked me to."

Kagome laughed as he put the guitar aside. "Well, it's the thought that counts, I suppose."

"You know, I never understood that saying." Inuyasha said stretching. "I mean, sure it works if your blind, crazy aunt gives you an ugly pair of hand made mittens. But it does it count if some one who hates you gives you a pretty diamond necklace in the hopes you choke on it?"

Kagome laughed. "No. That just makes that guy an idiot."

Inuyasha chuckled and Kagome but her lip as her face fell slightly.

"What? What is it?"

"I...nothing. Never mind." she blushed and turned her head away.

"What?" he repeated turning around completely.

"Well..."

"Speak up." he grumbled losing his patience. "It's not like I'm going to get mad and abondon you. Though if I did I would probably come back."

She smiled weakly. "Will you sleep with me. Not anything...you know. Just sleep."

Inuyasha blinked in surprise then smiled in understanding. It wasn't sexual. Not at all. It was companionship. A need to be near someone. An ovewhelming loneliness that had festered so long one wanted the company of others even in sleep.

"Sure." he said.

She smiled gratefully and scooted over to make room for him. He crawled in next to her and pulled her blanket over them both.

Kagome sighed in contentment, feeling more pleasure than words could describe at the warmth another body could give.

Inuyasha tucked them in and looked at her happily across the pillow.

She smiled and yawned and fell asleep. With Inuyasha beside her, she slept more peacefully than she had in 2 years.

* * *

Kagome woke up to a hand over her mouth.

She had just started to panic when she recognized Inuyasha's shape in the darkness.

"Shh." he said quietly. "Someone's here."

Kagome nodded and he removed his hand. The fire had burned down to embers and it was chilly outside the blanket. "What kind?" she whispered.

"Can't tell." he said standing up and moving to the door. He didn't walk, he stalked like a lion on the hunt, with the grace of a powerful predator assured of his next meal. "It's those damn chemicals of yours. They're blocking my nose."

"They're also excelent demon repellents." Kagome whispered back reaching for her trusty bleach.

"Shh...Whatever it is, it's getting closer."

Kagome fell obediantly quiet as she held her bleach bottle like a lethal weapon.

Inuyasha's ears were strained toward the sound on the otherside of the door.

The rythmic fall of footsteps, slow and quiet. Two pairs. So either the demon was four legged or there were two with two feet each. Or four with one each. Or...

Well, the list went on.

Suddenly there was a loud crash and a cry of pain even Kagome could hear.

"There goes the element of surprise." she said looking at the door.

Inuyasha sighed heavily and threw open the doors.

He charged in with a yell and two shrieks of fear were heard, followed by a loud thud, another cry of pain, some growling, two more thuds, and a female's voice saying "Hi-ya!"

Kagome grabbed her flashlight and ran into the room, shining it on it's occupants who immediately complained.

Inuyasha was rubbing his head his eyes shut completely, while another guy with black hair was shielding his with an arm while laying in a pile of wires and other things Kagome had piled out of the way when she moved in. The other person was a girl who was carrying a large stick and holding it threateningly.

"You guys are human." Kagome said shocked.

"So are you!" the boy said struggling in the pile of junk.

Inuyasha growled as his eyes adjusted.

"Call off your dog." the girl said not taking her eyes off him.

"He's not a dog. And he's not mine." Kagome said. "What are you doing here?"

"Well, actually." the boys said trying to free himself one limp at a time now, "We noticed demons staying away from this place and were checking it out to see if it was livable."

"I don't believe them." Inuyasha said moving so Kagome was behind him and better protected. "I haven't seen a single human in 2 years and now suddenly, I meet three. No way. Too much."

"He's right." Kagome agreed. "It's a little too much."

"Well, we've never seen humans at all." the boy said. "What are we supposed to think?"

"Inuyasha?" Kagome turned to him.

"They smell human." he admitted. "But I don't trust them."

"Why not?" the girl asked. "Who are you to say whose trustworthy and besides that, what are you anyway?"

"Oh yeah?" Inuyasha snarled. "You may smell human but you also smell like a cat demon."

"Hah!" the girl said. "That's because we travel with a cat demon."

Out of the darkness a large beige cat with two tails walked forward. It had large tusks and a deeper growl than Inuyasha and fire on its tails and paws.

Inuyasha growled at the large animal and it growled back.

"Call off your cat." Kagome said to her lifting the bleach in the cats direction.

"Call off your dog." she countered.

"Why should we trust you?" Kagome asked glaring at her.

"That's our question."

"Ladies, ladies." the boy in the junk pile having some how entangled himself more and was now upside down with his left wrist attached to his right thigh. "How about untangling me so we can work this out civily?"

"Shut up, Miroku." the girl growled. "We don't know them. We don't even know what he is."

"He's half." Kagome said placing a hand on his stiff shoulder. "Which is better than your full demon."

Inuyasha's claws were bared to the cat, they both looked ready to pounce at any moment.

"My cat is sane." the girl countered placing a hand on top of the feline. "Kirara is harmless to friends." Her eyes were hot on Kagome and she knew the other half of that sentence without being told.

"Inuyasha is deadly." Kagome said smirking. "To everyone."

Inuyasha smirked as well and the tension in the air grew.

"Woh!" Miroku fell out of the pile, mostly. His right arm was still tied somewhere inside. "Let's all...ugh!...just calm...UGH!...down." he pulled and grunted with the effort. "We can...ugh!...talk this...Uuuugh!....out."

Inuyasha rolled his eyes at him.

"Miroku, I'm amazed you've survived this long." the girl said dryly as she went to help him without taking her eyes off Kagome and Inuyasha.

He laughed sheepishly. "So, you two live here?" he asked them with a smile as the girl's hands plunged into the junk to try and work him out.

"Why do you want to know?" Inuyasha asked.

"Easy, man. We're all in this shitty world together." Miroku said calmly as the girl cursed under her breath at the tightness of the knots. "I'm Miroku. The cat is Kirara and this is Sango."

"Their flesh isn't decomposing." Inuyasha said to Kagome. "So they didn't steal it. Illusions?"

"Could be." Kagome said thinking Sango had the manners of an ogre. "It would have to be powerful to fool your nose."

He nodded.

"Damn, Miroku. How did you get knotted up like this?" Sango asked darkly pulling at some wires.

"Some things, my dear, require extreme skill and talent." Miroku smiled.

She muttered darkly and focused on the wires, her eyes still on Kagome and Inuyasha.

They got quite as Sango worked on the knots and criss crossing wires that Kagome used as trip traps. It was a simple trap. Demon comes along, it trips on the wire, falls, makes a bang, and wakes her up saving her from being a midnight snack.

Inuyasha suddenly turned.

"What?" Kagome asked turning off her flashlight and looking behind her as well.

"Ogres. Three of them." he said smelling their disgusting stench even through the chemical haze.

"That ogre we killed earlier..." Kagome said and ran back into the room, after her Windex.

"Wait!" Inuyasha called just as a huge ogre fist came crashing through the walls sending dust, debree, and large pieces of wall flying

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	5. Attack

**Disclaimer: No I do not own Inuyasha. That awesome privilage belongs to Romiko Takahashi. Thank you!**

You know what? I'm tired of so many stories where Kagome and Sango become friends faster than a thought, so I've decided to start them off as enemies! :D!

**Chapter 5: Attack**

"Kagome!" Inuyasha cried running forward and grabbing her before jumping back away from the majority of the debrise. It still hit her though, leaving a few small bruises and small cuts.

"Wait. You said something about an earlier ogre?" Sango asked as the demon cat jumped in front of her protectively.

"Ogres are pack oriented." Kagome explained looking at the gaping hole in the wall. "You harm or kill one, they all come after you."

**"You got that right."**

Three ogres, two of them very large the third only slightly smaller, walked in. Their skin was marroon and their eyes the same bulbous yellow as their slain kin. The one in fron was bigger than the one they had slain, obviously the head male by the necklace made of bones that adorned his neck, and then one on the right was about the same size. The third was female, which would explain her longer, greasier hair, and her smaller size.

"**You killed Hiak!" **The girl yelled, her voice only slighter higher than the males. The way she said 'Hiak' was more of a sound in the back of her throat than an actual word.

"You want to be next?" Inuyasha asked raising his claws.

**"His blood is on your claws. You shall die first." **The head male said threateningly.

**"Then the female!" **The female said glaring at Kagome.

Kagome's hand tightened on her bleach. The Windex was somewhere in her little camp burried beneath pieces of wall. Bleach was affective against most demons but Kagome felt better when she had their true weakness in her hands.

"Sango?" Miroku said cautiously. "Shall we help them?"

"We don't need your help." Inuyasha growled not taking his eyes off the three ogres.

"Inuyasha, there's three of them and two of us." Kagome said logically. "You might be able to handle two on your own but I can't. I don't really fight demons, I run from them."

Inuyasha growled in frustraition. "All right. You two want to prove you are what you say you are? Help Kagome."

Miroku nodded and ran to her side, Sango followed more reluctantly. She didn't really like Kagome and from the look Kagome gave her, she felt more or less the same. However in a life or death fight, they were willing to work together.

Kirara came to Sango's side, still growling in a deep base voice that sounded ferocious.

**"We have the male, Ihka,"** the head male said, the new name also sounded like a noise from the back of the throat, **"you take the humans."**

The woman nodded. "Yes." She smiled and sent a glare their way.

The ogres split up and the two males approached Inuyasha, their own long arms up and their black claws shining in the light from the flashlight Kagome had dropped when the wall crashed in. Ihka went behind them, toward Kagome and the others, green saliva dripping from her large fangs.

"Can that cat demon fight?" Kagome asked as Sango raised her, mostly useless, piece of wood that she had threatened Inuyasha with. Miroku bent down and grabbed a large rock, which he tossed between his hands as if testing the wieght.

"Yeah, she can." Sango said coldly. "And she's loyal and she wont turn on us so don't even think it."

Kagome didn't say anything as Ihka stopped in front of them and licked her lips. **"It's been a long time since I tasted human."**

"How about you and Miroku, can you two fight?" Kagome asked next.

"We've made it this far didn't we?" Sango asked. "We've been traveling around Japan for two years."

"You've got guts, I'll give you that." Kagome said.

Ihka growled in impatience**. "Enough talk. Time to die!"**

"Why are demons so cliche, do you wonder?" Kagome asked, a taunting smile on her.

"Because they have all the creativity of mud turtles." Miroku said adjusting his grip on the rock.

"And all the brains of a flea." Sango said her expression nearly identical to Kagome's.

Ihka, obviously one who was easily insulted, threw her large arm up and brought it down onto the ground where they were standing. All four of them jumped back and Kagome, who had spent years practicing for days like this, brought up her bleach and shot at the ogress.

She cried in pain as some of the powerful stream landed in her right eye.

Across the room, Inuyasha and the other two were dancing in a deadly circle around each other. None of them wanted to make the first move because neither was sure how strong the opponent was. However, it was two against one and the stand off was never going to last long.

The head male and the other looked at each other. They didn't turn their heads, only their eyes met and it didn't last but a bit of a second, but it was all the warning Inuyasha needed.

The second male leaped forward, long arms outstretched in a move that was both stupid and tactically unsound. Inuyasha could have, with a flick of his wrist split open his belly.

However, he jumped up onto the ogres back and from there, lept into the air and avoided the alpha's attack that had been hidden by the first and more obvious one. He turned in the air and brought his claws down onto the alpha's back making him holar his pain into the air.

They had to end this quickly. The sound of fighting and the smell of blood would invariably draw other demons and Inuyasha didn't want to be here when they got here.

Kagome dived left to avoid the raging ogress's claws. Half blind, in pain, and angry she was even more deadly than she was calm.

Sure Kagome had the barrier to protect her, but she didn't know how far she could trust it. She didn't know if it would just abondon her one day or if it would stop working because it was pushed too far. She didn't want to take that chance so she jumped, dived, dodged, and rolled away from every attack.

Sango and Miroku were better than her at evading and they moved together, as a team, seamless as if they could read each others thoughts rather than movements.

Every now and then Sango would run forward and slam the piece of wood hard against the back of Ihka's knees making her stumble and cry out in pain or Miroku would throw the rock in his hand at her and would bend down to pick up another. At regular intervals Kagome, finding a chance when her focus was on Sango or Miroku or Kirara, would spray her bleach at the ogre, hoping for a good hit. Only Windex would melt ogre skin, bleach merely irritated it.

However the ogress was growing more and more angry at the humans that were bringing her such pain.

With a roar of fury she swept her arms out to the side in a move none of them could avoid.

Then both arms met with bright blue, glowing, purifying shields.

She screamed, like nails running down a chalkboard, as her arms started desintigrating from the barriers.

All three of them looked at each other in shock.

**"IHKA!" **the alpha called from across the room.

Inuyasha, seizing his chance, swiped his claws through the demon, rendering him in two.

The other male took a few looks around him turned and ran outside.

"Let's go!" Inuyasha said running to the others.

"Why?" Sango asked dropping the board. "You're not thinking of going after him, are you?"

"We have to get out of here." Kagome said running into her room to find her bag.

"Why?" Miroku asked as Inuyasha began picking up chemicals. "That was the ogre pack wasn't it? The whole thing?"

"It's not the ogres I'm worried about." Kagome said finding her bag and throwing it over her head as Inuyasha put the chemicals she had inside. She went over to the knocked over cans of food and grabbed a few without looking at what they were and through them in her bag as well. "It's the demons that heard the fight. Some demons only eat other dead demons but some don't mind whether the pray is dead or not."

"Get on." Inuyasha said bending down and holding out his arms behind him.

Knowing what he meant, Kagome climbed onto his back and he stood up. It had been years since anyone had carried her, it was actually kind of nice. Or would have been had the stentch of dead ogre been filling the air. "So, are you two coming?" Inuyasha asked them.

Sango and Miroku exchanged a look.

"Yes, we're coming." Sango said.

"It's got to be easier with four people, besides, we want to talk to you about your barrier Kagome." Miroku said pleasently.

"Kirara!" Sango called.

The cat walked over to them and they both climbed on.

"You better keep up." Inuyasha said and ran through the whole and into the night with the other three hot on his tail.

x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x


	6. Meeting

**Disclaimer: No I do not own Inuyasha. That awesome privilage belongs to Romiko Takahashi. Thank you!**

Sorry about the wait guys my internet was off and I just got it back.

**Chapter 6: Meeting**

"This place should work." Kagome said cautiously as she sprayed her bleach in a mist over the windows.

Inuyasha had found an abondoned house on the outskirts of town. It wasn't a demon living space mostly because the sewer system under the ground had exploded and left a gag inducing smell in the air. It wasn't that popular with them either but Inuyasha said he could handle it so they could too and it would be a good demon deterent.

So Inuyasha had made sure no demons were inside the tastfull, fully furnished, home and Kagome had gone in and began spraying all the windows and doors with bleach. It would serve to keep smaller demons from entering.

"It's the best we'll get." Inuyasha said walking behind her and shutting the blinds and nailing sheets over the windows. It would be dark but they didn't want demons peaking in at the tasty humans that might be sleeping.

"Where are Sango and Miroku?" she asked.

"Closing off the garage. They're spreading some gasoline we found in the lawn mower around."

"Gasoline?" Kagome asked checking the locks. They weren't effective but they made her feel better.

"Smells really bad. Demons with good noses wont like it._ I _don't like it and I'm halfway across the house." Inuyasha scrunched his nose in dislike.

"It's for our protection." Kagome said soothingly spraying the last window. "We're lucky we found any place at all."

"Yeah. That's true." Inuyasha said thinking about the supermarket he had been sleeping in when Kagome found him.

"So uh..." He indicated his chin toward the kitchen where the garage door was as he lowered his voice, "What do you think of those two? Three?"

Kagome shrugged. "Too early to tell. Miroku seems pretty clueless. I'm surprised he survived at all. Kirara is strong. Did you see her tranform when we got back?"

Inuyasha nodded thinking of the huge feline that had turned into a cuddly kitty-cat after being engulfed in flames upon their arrival.

"That was amazing. She would be good at disguise and she's a good fighter. Sango..." Kagome sighed. "I don't like her. But...She's good in a fight. Serious. She guarded my back despite our uh...less than nice feeling toward each other. And besides that...." She paused again as she turned the nozzle on the bottle to off. "Inuyasha, did you see? Before we ran, Sango and Miroku were covered in the same barrier that I have. It was just the same."

Inuyasha nodded again, more gravely this time. "What are the odds, that in a destroyed world three people with that power seem to find each other?"

"What are the odds that they're joined by a_ sane_ demon?" Kagome asked back.

"Half." he said automatically.

"We have to talk to them." Kagome said looking into the kitchen. "Maybe they know why we're like this. Our barriers, your powers. She said they've traveled Japan for two years. Maybe they know something."

Inuyasha shrugged. "It doesn't matter to me. I'm not interested in the 'why's and 'how's. I'm interested in survival. That's all that matters."

Kagome nodded. "It is important. But you can't say you aren't curious."

Inuyasha didn't speak as he nailed the sheet over the window. It wasn't with a hammer however. He just pushed the nail in with his thumb, as if it was pushing through butter instead of a solid wall.

"You two done?" Miroku asked walking back in and shutting the garage door behind Sango.

"Just finished. You?" Kagome asked as Inuyasha took a match and began lighting candles.

"Almost." Sango said as she began lining the doorway with a sheet. "Hey, uh...What's your name again?"

"Inuyasha." he said looking at her.

"Can you lend a hand or uh thumb." She held up her hand which was full of nails and looked at the sheets blocking the cracks.

"Sure." he shrugged and walked over. It was the first time Kagome had gotten a good look at them.

Miorku was wearing a white t-shirt with a thick black stripe on the bottom. He had ripped the sleeves off. His jeans were faded and ripped and the toes of black combat boots were sticking out from the legs. Sango looked odd. She had on black combat boots like Miroku but you could see all of them because she was also wearing black capri pants. Her breasts were covered by a simple black tube top covered by a black vest but on her elbows were a pair of pink elbow pads. Judging by how scuffed they were she used them regularly. Kagome still felt the bruises on her own elbows pulse with pain when her heartbeat from when she had ducked and dived the ogress and thought maybe Sango was the smart one.

"Alright. Thanks." Sango said after Inuyasha finished.

"No problem." he shrugged.

"Hey." Kagome called over to them as she sat on the flowered couch. She thought the house had probably belonged to an old lady. "We need to talk."

Miroku nodded and walked over, Inuyasha followed with his hands behind his head. Sango shrugged and followed.

Miroku sat on a laz-e-boy and sighed in contentment as Inuyasha sat next to Kagome. Perhaps Sango and Miroku were what they said they were but they might not be. He trusted Kagome though and if they were demons he wanted to be able to protect her so he put himself between them and her. Sango sat on the wooden coffee table and stretched as Kirara lept onto her lap.

"Alright. I guess so. Let's hurry up, I'm tired." she yawned and Kagome's eyes narrowed at her.

"Fine. First: I want to know about your barriers." Kagome said sitting back against the couch. Inuyasha was right next to her, his arm on the back of the couch behind her. Two years ago she would have felt crowded, now she was thankful for the company and the feeling of safety he brought her.

Miroku looked at her seriously and Sango shrewdly. "Yeah," she said, "I am curious about that. How is it you have the same shield we do. We've been touring Japan all this time and never found another one like us."

"I could say the same thing." Kagome said liking Sango less and less. From the look she got she could tell Sango felt more or less the same. "I never met anyone until Inuyasha."

"Yeah, about that." Miroku said looking him over. Not like he was being cruel or judgmental but like a scientist shown a new species, curious and filled with a sense of wonder. "What exactly is he? A demon?"

"Half." Kagome and Inuyasha said at the same time. Kagome giggled and Inuyasha smirked.

"Half. What do you mean half?" Miroku asked as Sango pet Kirara absently.

"Well..." Kagome trailed off not exactly sure herself. "I mean, he has demon qualities but he can also think and remember who he was. No other demon I've seen can do that."

"Part human, part demon." Inuyasha agreed.

"But how?" Miroku asked leaning forward. "What happened to you that day?"

Inuyasha sighed heavily. "Not much." His eyes turned inward as he remembered a day he would much rather forget...

**Flashback**

_"I mean it young man!"_

_"Yes mom." Inuyasha said getting up out of his bed._

_"This room is awful. I want it spotless" Izayoi said as Inuyasha began picking up his dirty clothes._

_She left him and he dropped the clothes he was holding and fell back into bed._

_He turned his head and forgot that he couldn't see out of his window because it was covered._

_His brows furrowed as his vision bent as if he were looking at heat waves._

_"What is that?" He asked himself quietly as goose-bumps appeared on his skin._

_A cup of water, two days old, began to freeze on his bed side table. Inuyasha jumped out of bed and looked at the slow moving haze. A part of him, an instinctual part, told him that this was thing, whatever it was,was not meant for him to be messing with._

_"Inuyasha, I'm coming over there and you better be cleaning that room."_

_"Mom." He whispered._

_She couldn't be near that dangerous thing._

_He turned around and ran to the door and slammed it shut._

_"Inuyasha! Inuyasha, what are you doing! Open this door! Inuyasha!"_

_Inuyasha kept a firm grip on the handle and turned around._

_The wave had gotten closer._

_"Mom, get out of here!" Inuyasha yelled. That thing could travel through the storm guard on his window the door would be no problem._

_"What is it? Inuyasha, what's wrong?" His mother picked up the worry in his voice. "Inuyasha!"_

_He cried out as the wave touched his skin. It was freezing to the point of burning his flesh._

_"Inuyasha!" His mother screamed._

_The pain was overwhelming but a need to save his mother kept his other hand firm on the handle even as the pain traveled up his arm and into his chest._

_He screamed from the pain._

_Then a bright orb shot into the room and slammed full speed into his chest._

_He was thrown against the door and he cried out again. He heard his mother calling his name but his vision was going gray and she sounded as if she was trying to speak to him from the other end of a long tunnel._

**Normal**

"Huh..." Miroku said after Inuyasha finished speaking. "That sounds almost like Sango's story. I can't remember mine but Sango knows hers."

"What happened to you?" Kagome asked knowing that, if nothing else, they shared this saddness.

Sango sighed much like Inuyasha had done. "Well..."

**Flashback**

_"Kirara? Kirara, what's wrong?" Sango asked._

_She had been trying to sleep, hard to do with such a loud storm going on outside, when Kirara started hissing and spitting and glaring out the window. She sat up in bed and looked at her side where her precious cat, normally so tame and sweet, was acting like something out of Pet Cemetary._

_Kirara made a noise Sango could only connect to a growl._

_Sango looked out her window._

_"What is that?" She asked feeling slightly afraid._

_It was creeping in her room yet she couldn't tell you what it was._

_It looked like that strange bending of air when it was hot outside. Heat waves._

_Yet, as it crept closer, Sango got colder. Not just a flesh chilling cold, but a soul freezing cold. Her breath became visible and she snatched Kirara up and pushed herself against the wall._

_"DAD!" Sango called and grabbed the blanket off her bed. She tried to blow the wave away but it passed through the cloth as if it weren't there._

_"DAD!" she screamed again._

_She looked out her window in time to see a bright ball of light shoot in from outside and slam into her chest._

_Sango cried out and the pain made her drop Kirara back onto the bed._

_Taking the opportunity as it was presented, the darkness covered the hissing and spitting Kirara._

_She began scratching herself and squirming._

_Sango collapsed onto her bed just as Kirara's legs gave out._

**Normal**

There was silence in the room. It was a ringing silence that was louder than than noise somehow.

"So..." Inuyasha said at last, "Your cat," he looked at Kirara, "turned demon but you didn't. How come she didn't go crazy?"

Sango shrugged. "Miroku says it was because we were so close. Her love for me and mine for her preserved her mind." Her cheeks turned red. "Corny huh?" she laughed nervously and Kagome could see she believed Miroku's theory. She cleared her throat. "What uh...What about you? Kagome."

Kagome shrugged. "I could have been hit by a light. There was an earthquake at the time so my eyes were closed and I was focused on not falling. I remember pain before I blacked out but I didn't see anything."

Miroku nodded. "I think that's it then. The blue light. It must have saved us three and gotten to Inuyasha in time to stop the progress of the curse. Saved him but unable to fix the damage already done. No offense." He said hurriedly.

Inuyasha shrugged, uncaring. "None taken. Not that I'm complaining."

Kagome smiled at him. "I guess so. The light, huh. That's only if me and you were hit Miroku."

He shrugged. "Seems like a good theory to me."

Inuyasha yawned then, so big that Kagome heard his jaw crack.

"Look, it's been a long night. A long way too exciting night." Kagome said. "We're tired, unable to think right. We'll talk more in the morning when the demons are sleeping again."

Miroku nodded in agreement and Sango stood up with Kirara clutched in her hands. "Finally."

Kagome's eyes narrowed again.

"We call the master bedroom." Inuyasha smirked.

Sango sighed. "Fine. We'll take the guest." She grabbed a candle and started down the hall with Miroku.

Inuyasha smirked as she and Miroku walked down the hall murmering together. Something about wandering hands and castration.

Inuyasha shrugged and decided he didn't care.

Kagome sighed and crossed her arms. "What is it about her that ticks me off?"

Inuyasha chuckled and stood up. "She's competition." He grabbed the other candle.

"Competition?" Kagome asked standing and following him to the master bedroom.

"Sure." he said. "I'm a dog demon. I know these things."

"Half." Kagome smiled. "And what do you mean?"

He opened the door and let her in before shutting it and locking it firmly. He still didn't trust Sango and Miroku.

"Well..." he thought for a second as he set the candle on the bedside.

Old lady or not, whoever owned the house had excelent taste in mastresses. When Kagome sat on it she nearly purred from the comfort.

Kagome kneeled down and took off her shoes as Inuyasha tried to explain.

"I guess it's like...The alpha. Remember the ogre pack? The alpha male, who I fought, and the alpha female who you fought." he asked pushing the blanket down the matress.

"Yeah?" Kagome said uncertain as she took off her bag.

"Well, you were like the alpha female. You ruled everything and ruled what was best for your pack even if it was only you." he explained.

"But I liked you." Kagome protested deciding to take off her stockings too.

"Because I'm not a female." he said immediatly. "Work with me on the terms, okay? When I joined your pack, as there were no other males, I became alpha male. I don't mind Miroku because I know he's no threat to the position. But Sango? She's strong and willfull like you. You can sense she can fight you for alpha position and you don't like her because of it."

Kagome 'hmm'ed in the back of her throat as she stored her socks in her shoes. "Maybe. It actually sounds right." She chuckled. "I can't believe it. I'm turning into a demon."

"You're not." Inuyasha said climbing into the bed and smiling at the comfort. "Just defending your position as pack leader."

Kagome laughed and laid back and Inuyasha threw the blanket over them both. She didn't know why, but without questions they had both decided to sleep together like before. Nothing but company from a friend. Sighing, content this time, she curled up next to him, happy at his body heat.

"How do you know anyway?" she asked looking into his golden eyes.

He shrugged. "I didn't really like Miroku either until I realized he was no threat to me. Then I didn't mind him so much. I figured the same might hold true for you." He turned around and blew out a deep breath and the tiny flame disappeared leaving only his eyes as tiny lights in the dark.

"Good night, Inuyasha." Kagome said snuggling closer.

"Night." he said yawning again.


	7. Theory

**Disclaimer: No I do not own Inuyasha. That awesome privilage belongs to Romiko Takahashi. Thank you!**

Okay, someone doesn't understand. If you'll remember I had everyone hit with blue balls of light but Miroku and Kagome's eyes were closed so they didn't see it. Inuyasha is only half because, if you'll remember, the evil only consumed him halfway before the blue light saved him. Focus, people, focus!

**Chapter 7: Theory**

"We've decided." Sango announced a few days later.

"Decided what?" Kagome asked, confused.

The last few days were the best she had had in years. The day after they arrived Inuyasha left saying he was going to get food and gave a threatening glare to Sango and Miroku before he left. Everything was peaceful however because they were busy increasing security on their new house.

When he came back, he not only had stuffed Kagome's bag with canned foods he had also brought home-

"Is that meat?" Kagome had asked when she saw the wild pig slung over his shoulder. Her mouth had immediately watered. She hadn't had real meat in so long. Canned stuff just wasn't any good at all.

"Freshly caught." Inuyasha had been smirking, knowing he had done good.

Kagome ate until her stomach was extended that night.

Since then Inuyasha would go off hunting and bring back many things. Canned foods were always coming in but so was wild pig, wild boar, rabbit, fish, things Kagome had forgotten the taste of and had given up on ever eating again.

Sango and Miroku, wanderers and hunters, had eaten these things but never with so little danger to themselves. They bonded with Inuyasha, drawn to him like a pack seeking a strong leader. Kagome and Miroku got along well, he was very smart and told wonderful stories. Things between her and Sango were tense for a while but after a few days in her constant company Kagome found herself a little more tolerant of her. Not hating her anymore at least.

With Inuyasha to train and instruct her, Kagome started learning real defensive things, not just spraying whatever came to hand. He also restocked her supply of cleaners and chemicals. She felt safer with them. The others were good at fighting with their hands but she needed something to shoot.

Everything was working out,

Then one morning Kagome and Inuyasha came into the kitchen where Miroku had opened some applesauce for breakfast.

"We've decided," Sango repeated, "that we want you two to come with us."

Inuyasha, completely oblivious to everything until he had eaten, was already scarfing down his food but Kagome sat down slower, looking at Sango cautiously.

"I was under the impression you were with _us." _Kagome said firmly.

"Yeah, right now we are. But see..." she looked at Miroku for help. He stepped forward as Sango sat down opposite Kagome.

"It's like this, me and Sango haven't been wandering aimlessly." He spoke with his signature smile. "We've been trying to find out what happened to the world. Trying to see if there is a way to correct it. Haven't you ever been curious?"

"In the words of Inuyasha, I've been too busy surviving." Kagome said dryly.

"Well, we were." Sango said. "Show her Miroku."

"Look." He took a thick, leather bound book she hadn't noticed of the country and placed it in front of her.

"History?" Kagome asked opening the front cover to reveal old, yellowing paper.

"Not just history." Sango said, her eyes excited. _"European _history."

"That means so much to me. I was just thinking the other day I wish I knew more about it." She said sarcastically letting the cover drop. Beside her, Inuyasha snickered.

"Look." Miroku opened the book to a page he had bookmarked with a spare piece of paper. "We found it in the Tokyo Public Library. Read this chapter."

Kagome leaned forward. "'Chapter 15: The Dark Ages'. Really, Miroku?"

"Just read." He prompted.

"Just tell me." Kagome said.

"Okay, I don't think this is the first time this has happened. I think, whatever is happening now, happened then too."

Kagome sighed. "Miroku, people know things about the Dark Ages. Never in class did I read about demons roaming the land. Besides it was only in western Europe, not the whole world."

"Well, obviously not the_ exact _same thing." He corrected himself. "It's a period of cultural and economic decline. Look, I have a theory."

"You always do." Inuyasha murmured looking at Kagome's applesauce. Not hungry, she pushed it over to him.

"Alright. Let's hear it then."

He smiled like a kid at Christmas and began flipping through the book. "I found another recorded instance of something like this, also on a much smaller scale, happening in Greece."

"Miroku..."

"No, no! Listen." He said cutting her off. "So, when I found this other record it got me thinking. Ancient Greece is famous for it's Greek Myths, right? What if they were real? What if what happened here happened there? On a smaller scale."

Kagome didn't interrupt but she was skeptic.

"Think about it, Kagome. What Greek Myth had pure evil being unleashed into the world? Do you know it?"

"Pandora's Box." Inuyasha supplied. "Zues gave Pandora a box, told her not to open it, she did, unleashed plague, famine, evil on humankind."

"Exactly." Miroku said happily. "What if it was true? What if she unleashed this evil and they brought forth the Greek Myths?"

"Miroku, what do you-"

"Now, Kagome, think about it." Miroku said. "The matador? An ogre demon. They're too stupid to figure out a maze and they love killing. What if one got caught and put in the maze. Helen of Troy?" He ran to the counter and brought back a second book. "Most beautiful woman on earth? It says Zues came to her mother as a swan and Helen was hatched from an egg. What if it was a swan demon? They are extraordinarily beautiful. We've seen one." He looked at Sango and kept talking. "How about the gorgons? Medusa? The Fates? The giants in the tales? How about the sirens? The tale of Odysseus? Trapped on an island with Calypso, she fell in love with him and they stayed together for years before he remembered his wife at home. All the gods and goddesses? Demons playing with humans because they can. It makes sense."

"It's a bit of a stretch." Kagome said. "But how did they get back in the box? And the Dark Ages? What about that?"

"I don't think it was opened then. Just cracked." Miroku admitted. "Someone cracked the box and a little evil leaked out and it brought the Dark Ages before they could put it back. And Pandora's time? I think she saw what was escaping and shut it before it could escape completely. So neither time was like this one."

Kagome bit her lip. "You're assuming this box exists? And what idiot would leave the box open long enough for all this to leak out?"

"I think," Miroku said dramatically, "based on the fact that demons are drawn to Higurashi shrine that the Box was kept there after being resealed at the end of the Dark Ages.""

Kagome rolled her eyes, "Miroku, I lived at Higurashi shrine I think I would know if-"

She cut herself off as two year old memories she had considered unimportant filled her mind.

_"...dad swears up and down that a seal isn't placed on some thing for no good reason. Better leave it undamaged and save him a heart attack." _

_"What's in this thing?" Kagome asked looking it over. It came up to her mid-thigh and was older than the box she had held before. The wood was dull and slightly rotten. There was not one, but three sealing scrolls on it. One on the front and one on each side. It also had been tied shut with rope but it had also been locked with a very old lock that probably didn't have a key anymore._

_"Dad seems to know though. He always comes in this shed once a week to check this thing. Make sure the seals are in place, that the wood isn't too rotted. He seems determined to keep it shut."_

_"Be careful with this! Don't you dare break this chest. This is Pandora's Box!"_

_"In Greek mythology, Pandora was entrusted from Zeus with a box. In this box was all the evils of the world. Pandora, in her curiosity, opened the box and let evil out into the world. This is that box!"_

_"We've been keeping all the evils of the world in our backyard shed."_

_"Laugh if you wish but it took the power of four different gods to put the evil back and it cost them their lives."_

_"The god of courage and fire, the god of wisdom and air, the god of strength and earth, and the god of healing and water. Together, with all their power combined, they managed to..."_

_"NO!" _

_"The seal!" he pointed at the front seal which was hanging limply from the chest with only the bottom still attached. _

"Oh, my God." Kagome said her mouth hanging open.

"Kagome?" Inuyasha said placing a hand on her shoulder.

"What's wrong?" Miroku said putting his book down.

"You're right." Kagome said grabbing Miroku's arm. "I completely forgot. I never thought it was real."

"Are you going to start making sense soon?" Sango asked.

"Look, in the oldest shed on our property there was a really old chest. Gramps checked on it every weak. I always thought he was just paranoid." She looked down at her hands as if she had never seen them before. Had she really touched the real source of all evil? "Every year we clean one of Gramps sheds. If we don't they get moldy and musty and he's old so...The oldest shed had this great big, really heavy chest with three sealing scrolls and a whole mess of ropes holding it together. The day of the beginning of all this was cleaning day for that shed. Gramps was hanging onto it, telling us to be careful. When he climbed off one of the seals came off. He put four more on to replace it and re-placed that one but Gramps doesn't have spiritual power..." She trailed off but she didn't need to speak anymore. Miroku's eyes had lit up with the discovery of new knowledge.

"So the damage was already done. Having already been let out twice before the evil took action and let itself out. No one opened it, it opened itself and all the evil came out." Miroku looked excited at having solved the mystery and having his theory confirmed. "Do you know what this means? We can fix this? We can replace this evil!"

"How?" Kagome asked busting his bubble. "Do you have a manual? I never took evil replacement 101 in school, Miroku. So what? We know what happened. We still can't do anything about it."

He thought for a moment this his eyes lit up again and he ran from the room.

"There is something way wrong with him." Inuyasha said stretching. His hunger sated he was better equipped to pay attention now.

Miroku came back a second later with a pencil and a notebook. "Okay, Kagome. Tell me everything you remember."

Kagome sighed as he sat in front of her, looking eager. Dutifully, she repeated what little she remembered to him.

For the first time in her life, she wished she had listened to one of Gramps' stories.


	8. Half God, Half Demon

**Disclaimer: No I do not own Inuyasha. That awesome privilage belongs to Romiko Takahashi. Thank you!**

**Disclaimer 2: /?Greek-Mythology-Hercules-The-Mortal-Who-Became-a-God&id=37435 is the sight where I found all the information and copied the section on the Hercules myth. I did not write it myself.**

Just so you know I will be putting Greek myths into this story so if you've already read them bear with me or if I get something wrong tell me so I can correct myself.

**Chapter 8: Half God, Half Demon**

"These four gods interest me." Miroku said for the thousandth time.

"We know." Kagome said pulling the sheets snug over the windows. Sun would be setting soon and that meant demons would be appearing so they were locking down.

"I just wonder who they are?" he said making more notes. "Maybe if we pray to them..."

"Miroku, I spent my first year like this praying." Inuyasha said walking inside the house and locking the deadbolt. "I don't think it will work." He had been out 'marking his territory'.

Kagome had been disgusted at first at the thought of him peeing on a light post but Inuyasha assured her that demons were cautious about entering another's clearly marked territory. Just another layer he said. So she avoided thinking about it.

"Maybe we need to pray to them spacifically." Miroku continued undaunted.

"Just drop it Miroku." Sango said as she finished lighting their candles. Kagome made herself a mental reminder to tell Inuyasha to get more matches when he went out tomorrow. "If a god was going to help they would have done it already."

He wasn't listening however and was mumbling to himself about the elements.

After a dinner of canned corn and fish, he went right back to his notes. Mumbling and looking through his books and making notes, the others ignored him. When everyone went to bed he was still at it, like a crazy man.

* * *

Inuyasha had begun to trust Sango and Miroku enough to leave the door unlocked. He was convinced they weren't demons and besides that he was always with her and he was a very light sleeper so if they crept in, silent, in the dead of night, he could still hear them.

He could also hear them if they burst into his room, slamming the door against the wall, yelling in victory like Miroku did.

Kagome and Inuyasha shot up in bed as Miroku rushed in, his face flushed in excitement. "I've found him! I've found him!"

"I'm going to kill you, Miroku, unless you tell me that you're dying." Inuyasha growled as Sango walked in rubbing her eyes.

"What's going on? Miroku, are you still up?'

"Sango! I found him!" He pulled her into his arms and spun her in a circle making her cry out.

"Found who?" Kagome asked wishing he would answer then go away. Inuyasha was already cracking his knuckles in anger.

"Hercules!" He said in triumph.

"Some one found him a long time ago, Miroku." Sango said as she broke out of his embrace. "You're a little late." She sat down next to Kagome on her bed.

"No, no, no! Look!" He held out his Greek myth book and shoved it into Kagome's hands. "Read it! Read it!"

Kagome sighed. "It's dark, Miroku."

Before she finished he had ran out of the room and was returning a moment later with a candle. "Here, now read." he placed the candle in Inuyasha's hands so she could see.

Knowing she wouldn't be able to get back to sleep without doing this, she read outloud, "'Of all the Greek heroes none is more brave than the mighty Hercules.' What does-"

"Read!" Miroku instisted.

She sighed and did as she was bade, "'The son of the adulterous Zeus and a mortal woman, his life was made by Hera Queen of the Gods who did not appreciate her husband's lechery.'"

"I know how she feels." Sango said leaning back, smirking.

Miroku frowned and opened his mouth but Kagome continued reading before he could speak. The faster she indulged him the faster he would go away and let her sleep. She read:

"Zeus, the King of the gods was an unfaithful husband. He had a weakness for worldly pleasures. He fell in love with Alcmene, the wife of Amphitryon. In a short time, Alcmene conceived Hercules. This angered Hera and she tried to kill Hercules. Hercules survived his first fatal assault with a miracle.

When Hercules reached adulthood he became a famous warrior. He also fell in love with a beautiful woman called Megara. Megara became the mother of Hercules' children and together they made a happy family. However, things were to be different. Hera took a vow to irritate Hercules during his lifetime. She tricked Hercules into a wild rage. In his rage, the mortal god Hercules killed his family. This was exactly what Hera wanted!

When Hercules returned to his normal state of mind, he saw things were beyond remedy. He prayed to Apollo to get rid of his crime. Apollo was the sun god who could read into the future. We find in Greek Mythology that Hercules requested his advice. Apollo assigned him ten important tasks (later it was turned to twelve) as the way of purifying his soul.

The Delphic oracle sent him to Tiryns where the king Eurystheus ruled. Hercules was expected to serve him as laborer for twelve years of his life. However, the difficult service was not fruitless. Apollo promised him immortality. He was to become a god. However, the great Hercules of greek mythology had one problem, Hera. She actually kept her promise to make Hercules' life as wretched as she could. Nevertheless, with the assistance of Hermes and Athena, Hercules pulled off his term of twelve years with excellence. In addition, he became the greatest mortal on the earth to become a god.

The honorable penance of Hercules and his eventual success is what makes him so special. His success brought him immortality, which would have been unthinkable for ordinary mortals. Hercules' first task was to peel off the skin of the horrifying Nemean Lion after capturing one. His next task was to kill The Lernean Hydra. The Lernean Hydra was a serpent with nine heads, which never gave peace to the lives of those around it. The third task for him was to bring a Hind (a sacred red deer) from Ceryneia to the king. The deer was the pet of Diana, the Moon goddess.

The fourth task for Hercules was to bring a live Erymanthian Boar. It was very dangerous to men and animals living around the mountain Erymanthus. Then Hercules was asked to clean up King Augeas' stables in one day. Are you thinking what is so great about it? King Augeas had an awesome amount of cattle of cows, bulls, goats, sheep and horses. Hercules proposed to King Augeas that he would clean the stable only if he rewarded Hercules with a tenth of his cattle.

After this success, Eurystheus was planning to make something tougher for Hercules. He commanded Hercules to force out an enormous flock of birds, which assembled at a lake near the town of Stymphalos. Goddess Athena helped him with a pair of bronze krotala, an item similiar to castanets. The Cretan Bull was an easy task for Hercules. Hercules wrestled the bull, and then delivered it back to King Eurystheus.

The eighth task was to bring the Man-Eating Horses of Diomedes. It was followed by the battle against the Amazonian female army to get the belt of Hippolyte, the queen. The tenth labor was an awesome one. Hercules had to go around the world, to bring the cattle of the Monster Geryon. It had three heads and three sets of legs all attached at the waist.

The tricky assignment was the eleventh one. Eurystheus asked Hercules to get the Apples of the Hesperides. These were the golden apples gifted by Hera to Zeus. These apples were strictly guarded by a hundred-headed dragon, named Ladon, and also by Hesperides, daughters of Atlas. The other obstacle was that Hercules had no idea where these apples of Hesperides were located. Eventually, Hercules found the location from Nereus whom he seized until Nereus gave him the location of the apples of Hesperides.

Then Hercules found out through Prometheus, whom Hercules had helped, that he would have to have Atlas retrieve the apples. Hercules agreed to hold the sky and the earth while Atlas retrieved the apples. When Atlas returned with the apples, he told Hercules that if he would hold the sky and earth for the rest of time, that he would take them to Eurystheus himself. But Hercules fooled Atlas by asking him to hold the earth until he padded his shoulders. Atlas took Hercules place holding the earth, and Hercules picked up the apples and ran.

After making the great Hercules do all sorts of unbelievable errands, Eurystheus made sure that he did not succeed the last time. So, he ordered Hercules to abduct Cerberus, the underworld beast. Did you ever hear a living man visiting the Hades? However, Greek mythology tells us Hercules was no ordinary man. He was a hero.

He eventually did complete all the tasks, purified his soul and rescued the princess of Troy from a ravenous sea-monster. He also facilitated Zeus to beat the Giants in a great battle for the control of Olympus. He married again, to the charming Deianira. She presented him a cloak, which was coated with what she mistakenly thought to be a magic love potion. She was told that the balm would make the person love her forever.

Ironically, it was poison, which burned Hercules skin. Hercules, not being able to endure the pain asked his friends to kindle a fire. Then Hercules placed himself on the fire to be burned up alive. But the gods looked down, and Zeus thought that Hercules had suffered enough. So he asked Hera to end her anger toward Hercules, which she did. Then Hercules was brought to Olympus in Athena's chariot by Zeus' request.

This Greek mortal Hercules is undoubtedly the greatest hero of Greek Mythology."

Kagome shut the book. "Okay, Miroku, what's your point?"

"The end Kaogme." Miroku said. "I thought maybe he was just another powerful demon humanoid but that last part caught my attention. He was burned in fire but he survived."

"Because the gods ordered it?" Kagome asked passing the book back as Sango yawned.

"No. Because he was the god of courage and fire. And I have a theory-"

"Surprise, surprise." Kagome and Sango said at the same time making each other laugh.

"Will you pay attention." He gripped.

"Not at this hour." Inuyasha said kicking him off the bed where he had sat himself during the tale.

He hit the ground with a thud but it didn't stop his enthusiasm. "Look, he was the most couragious Greek hero? He survived after being burned alive? How else would humans describe it than as the will of the gods? And, this is the most unbelievable part, he was a half god!"

There was a moment of silence before Inuaysha said, "So?"

Miroku sighed. "Look, we've already determined that the 'gods' were just demons, right? So instead of being half god he's actually-"

"Half demon." Kagome finished, looking at Inuyasha.


	9. Darkness

**Disclaimer: No I do not own Inuyasha. That awesome privilage belongs to Romiko Takahashi. Thank you!**

I have a new poll on my profile! Check it out and vote! Sorry the chapter is so short! Next will be longer I promise!

**Chapter 9: Darkness**

"Okay, look." Inuyasha said. "Just because Miroku is going nuts, does not mean you have to follow him." he handed Miroku the candle. "I am not a half god. I'm a half demon."

"Which is exactly what Hercules was." Miroku said but Inuyasha wasn't listening. He was laying back down, oblivious to them.

"I'm going back to sleep. Wake me up when you guys are done being crazy. Or in the morning. Whichever comes first."

"It did seem like a good idea." Sango said to Kagome. "But he's only found one _potential _for these four gods and we don't even know if they exsist."

"Yeah. Maybe you should find the other three first, Miroku." Kagome turned to him and stopped."Miroku!"

He shook his head and focused on his hand that held the candle.

The tiny flame was right against Inuyasha's skin and Inuyasha hadn't moved and inch.

"Look, it took me forever to find the Hercules myth and I was just checking the ones I knew best first. I was lucky I even found that one." He moved the flame up and down Inuyasha's exposed arm but still got no reaction.

"Uh...Miroku?" Sango said sure he had lost it.

"I might find the others if I have enough time and more books. But since I don't I'm going to assume Inuyasha is-"

"Don't even think it, Miroku." Inuyasha grumbled without looking at him. "I am a god. And you have no proof either so drop it."

Miroku smiled. "Really? No proof you say."

"You sounded entirely too self satisfied in that sentence." Inuyasha sat up, "What-"

Everyone froze as Inuyasha looked the flame Miroku was still holding against his skin.

"Miroku."

"Yes?" he smiled as if completely unaware of what he was doing.

"How long has that been there?" Inuyasha's face was carefully blank.

"What? Oh, you mean the candle?" Miroku smiled in triumph. "Since you handed it to me. Is it hot?"

"That doesn't prove anything, Miroku!" Inuyasha said snatching the candle from him.

"It kind of does." he said. "Have you always been immune to heat, Inuyasha?"

"No!" he growled. "And that is exactly my point. The only reason it doesn't hurt is because I'm a half demon!"

"No, see I have another theory." Miroku said, excited again.

Sango fell back on Kagome's pillow. "Here we go. Next, you're going to tell us that me, you, and Kagome are the other three gods, right?"

"Well, yes, but that wasn't what I was going to say." Miroku seemed undaunted.

Kagome graoned and leaned against Inuyasha.

"No, no. Just listen." he continued. "Okay, we know for sure that Inuyasha and Sango were hit by blue lights right?"

"Yeah." Sango said knowing he wanted someone to respond.

"Well, what if we all got hit by the blue light and that's what saved us from becoming demons and that's what held the gods' powers?" He looked at them in anticipation.

"Miroku, do you notice the demon right here?" Kagome asked pointing at Inuyasha who nodded in agreement to her statement.

"Half." Miroku said. "Just half because before the evil could consume him completely the blue light hit him. You said so yourself, Inuyasha. After you got hit with the blue light you didn't feel the evil infecting you anymore."

"I didn't feel anything after that because I passed out." Inuyasha said scratching his fuzzy dog ear.

"Don't change your story." Miroku chastised.

"I'm not." he said yawning. "I felt the evil, yeah. Then the blue light hit me full on the chest and I passed out. "

"But it still proves that the blue light saved us. Had the blue light not hit you, you would be a demon like the others out there and if that's true and we_ all_ got hit by the blue lights then that's what kept us human." Miroku started pacing, his mind still going. "I bet we can test if we're the others. The one for water, I bet they don't need to breath under water-"

"If you think I'm letting you drown anyone you're crazy." Inuyasha growled.

Miroku laughed. "Sorry. I got ahead of myself." He laughed sheepishly.

Inuyasha shook his head. "Look we're tired and your nuts, let's go to sleep and think this over rationally in the morning. Maybe sleep will return your mind to normal."

Sango stood up and grabbed the protesting Miroku and dragged him out of the room and shut the door.

Kagome sighed as Inuyasha looked at his arm where Miroku had held the candle.

"What's wrong?" Kagome asked. "Burning?"

"No." Inuyasha said. "And that's the problem. The hair isn't even burned off."

"Let me see." Kagome reached over and felt along his arm but the hair was all there, even and unburned.

Kagome leaned back, confused. "Even if your skin is amune, your hair shouldn't be." They shared a look. "You don't think he was right? Was he?"

* * *

"How goes the hunt?" A dark voice asked in a dark room.

It was sunny outside. They disliked the sunlight, far too bright. It didn't burn their skin but it did burn their sensative eyes. Besides, they were nocturnal creatures. So they covered the glass-less windows and encased their home in pure darkness.

"We have herded the two who traveled together with the other two, master." A small demon said with an emotionless voice. "They have joined together."

"Do they know?"

"No, master. They still act as humans and we sense no active power from them."

"Good, good." You could always tell when the master was pleased because his voice became like honey, sinfully slick and sweet. "We attack tonight."

"As you command, master."


	10. Breach

**Disclaimer: No I do not own Inuyasha. That awesome privilege belongs to Romiko Takahashi. Thank you! **

...

**Chapter 10: Breach**

"Shut up, Miroku." Inuyasha said stretching.

Miroku looked at him annoyed. "I haven't said anything yet."

"Yet, being the key word." Inuyasha said relaxing on the couch. For a dog demon, he looked remarkably like a cat when he did that.

Kagome was, as always, by his side, reading a book in the last of the sunlight. Her back was against his side and she was leaning against him, her knees bent and her neck down as she read.

Miroku looked slightly annoyed and shut his own book, the Greek myth book. "I'm going to my room." He declared and left the living room.

Sango was outside spraying some bug killer they found around the house. It would keep out the smaller insect demons and insects in general.

"I think he's finally lost it." Inuyasha told Kagome as he wrapped one of his arms around her. She maneuvered her own arms so she could still reach her book and smiled.

"'He's just...doing what keeps him sane. Sango said he's always thinking. Has been since she met and joined up with him."

"Keh." Inuyasha scratched his ear with his other hand.

Sango came back in and shook her head. "It started drizzling." she said. "I hope it doesn't wash away the poison."

"I still smell it so I think it's fine." Inuyasha said closing his eyes. He wasn't trying to go to sleep, he was just enjoying the quiet.

Sango smiled as she looked at them. "Should I leave you two alone?"

"Why?"

"Yeah, why?" Inuyasha echoed Kagome.

"Never mind." Sango smiled and walked into the kitchen.

It was different for Sango and Miroku. They had had each other since the collapse of society. They had been together the entire two years so neither of them had felt the aching loneliness that Kagome and Inuyasha had.

For them sitting together like that had become natural. It was keeping away the deep, darkness of being alone away. Neither of them had talked to another person in two years much less had the comfort of touch. They had met each other and bonded and now being separated caused them a sort of physical pain as they both feared the loneliness that could engulf them again.

Kagome knew it was probably some mental problem that a doctor would have wanted to fix. But she thought each of them had their own mental problems. It was expected, after all they did survive the fall of the world as they knew it. The fact that her only mental problem was a need to be next to this man made her happy because she didn't have others. Besides, Inuyasha was great company. Even if he was rough around the edges.

He yawned and his tongue curled in much like a dog's would and Kagome grinned. "You tired?"

"Bored." he said taking a deep breath of her scent. "I'm not really interested in reading."

"You miss TV?"

He shrugged. "I used to. Not so much anymore. You enjoying that book?"

Kagome nodded. "It's pretty interesting." She closed it and sat it on the coffee table. "You know, Miroku and Sango take turns sleeping on the floor in their room."

"You want me out of the bed?" he asked trying to sound nonchalant but his ears betrayed him because they lowered themselves to his head in sadness.

"No." Kagome said immediatly. "I...I like it that way it's just...do they think it's weird we sleep together?"

He looked down at her blush and smirked. "If they do they don't mention it where I can hear it. You don't mind an I like it too so I see no reason to change it."

"Yeah. You're right." Kagome nodded still blushing.

Lately she had begun to notice that it wasn't just comfort that had her seeking his arms every night. Then she would wake up in the morning feeling slightly let down, though they were holding onto each other like they would never let go. It was odd, she wanted him around so much that she never wanted to leave him but when they were together she just felt like something was missing.

"Hey, Inuyasha-"

"Hush!" He said suddenly putting his hand over her mouth.

She looked up at him, he was looking at the front door, sniffing.

The rain and different chemicals surrounding the house were throwing him off but he could swear he was smelling demons.

"Go get your bleach." he whispered to Kagome as he let her go.

She ran as quietly to the kitchen as she could and whispered to Sango that Inuyasha smelled something. She nodded, her face serious, and went to get Miroku.

Working quickly, Kagome reached under the sink and grabbed the bleach and Windex thinking that maybe the last ogre had come for revenge.

She returned to Inuyasha who was still sniffing the air frantically.

"What is it?" she asked.

"I can't tell." he said. "These chemicals bother my nose and the rain is washing away any scent that's not very strong. It smells like all kinds of demons but it always smells like that."

"Well, what do you hear?"

He closed his eyes and focused. "Raindrops. Thunder."

Kagome couldn't hear thunder so she imagined it was far away.

"Shuffling but it's hard to make out footsteps, the rain is getting harder."

"We can handle it, whatever it is." Sango said walking back in, a metal bat in her hands. "I found it in the closet." Miroku was a step behind her with a long piece of wood from a bed post that he had been progressively sharpening and making thinner since they arrived.

"Let's hope it just passes by." Kagome said thinking of the setting sun and cloudy day.

"No need to fight if we don't have to, I agree." Miroku said fixing his grip on his makeshift spear.

Suddenly, a large fist slammed down through the roof and onto the floor, shaking the entire house.

Th fist was pulled back and the rain began pouring inside.

Outside, dozens of eyes looked in at them, laughing, hissing.

"Look at all those demons!" Sango moaned as each one of them looked in at their pray, hungry.

"Is that a girl?" Kagome asked seeing a small, albino child in a glowing white kimono standing in front of the horde of demons.

"I don't think so." Inuyasha growled placing himself in front of her.

"Those are all different demons species. Why are they working together?" Miroku asked.

"And why aren't they attacking?" Sango asked.

As if reacting to her words, the little girl held up and arm and pointed to them.

This being the signal the demons had been waiting for, they charged in fangs and claws ready to rip apart and devour the last remaining humans on the planet.


	11. Fire

**Disclaimer: No I do not own Inuyasha. That awesome privilege belongs to Romiko Takahashi. Thank you! **

...

**Chapter 11: Fire**

With a cry, Inuyasha slashed at them with his claws but he only three.

Like a professional baseball player, Sango took a stance and swung her metal bat so hard that the demon's face she hit imploded.

Miroku was faster than everyone but Inuyasha. His homemade spear was flying everywhere, aiming for eyes and between armored plates of the great beasts.

From behind the protection of Inuyasha claws, Kagome would raise her bleach and shoot trying to aim mostly for the face and worm like demons. The demon's without the armored scales or shell were most susceptible to her bleach.

She only saw one ogre but he was cut down by Inuyasha ao the Windex she grabbed was useless. Mostly it was the smaller demons that were able to sneak past the other three to her. The tiny ones that were still very deadly.

Like the five inch tall demon spider that laid its eggs in your still living body and when they hatched they devoured you from the inside out. Plenty of those snuck through. Their hairy bodies were irritated by the bleach but really it only served to make them angry.

Thanking kami that she wasn't afraid of spiders, Kagome began kicking and stepping on the tiny beasts.

Suddenly, a transformed Kirara jumped in front of her and began tearing the spiders to pieces.

"Thanks, Kirara." Kagome said gratefully. She might not be afraid of spiders but she was terrified that one of them would have managed to bite her with their paralyzing venom.

To her left Sango was practicing for the major leagues with her bat. The metal was not easily destroyed like a wooden bat would be and her arms were very strong and when she swung the bat landed painfully. However the dull object was not good for demon slaying and the most she could do was keep them at bay or drive them to Inuyasha's deadly, razor sharp claws.

Miroku was having only a slightly easier time. His spear was sharp but the wood was delicate when faced with a horde of demons. It wasn't long until his carefully sharpened tip snapped and he was left with an almost useless length of wood. At that point he began doing what Sango did. With none of her style, he began driving them to Inuyasha who the demons seems to be trying to avoid the most.

Inuyasha was the only one among them with weapons that could handle a demon attack. His claws were always sharp, nearly unbreakable, and the demons couldn't beat him in speed. However he was the only one able to do it and even though Sango and Miroku were injuring them and Kagome's bleach in their eyes was blinding them he was still slaying them alone.

"How many of these things are there?" Miroku panted. His arms were heavy and for a moment his guard weakened and a demon saw a moment to get revenge. A tenticle shot out and slashed up Miroku's arm, drawing blood.

"Miroku!" Sango said, distracted so an ugly, squat demon had a chance to head butt her in the stomach sending her.

"Don't lose focus!" Inuyasha growled punching the ugly demon in the jaw and sending him flying into the others. He shook his water soaked hair out of his face and glared at the large horde of demons still facing them.

"Inuyasha!" Miroku said trying to fight with only one arm. "Call forth fire!"

Inuyasha sighed and slashed a demon in half. "Miroku, this is no time for your crazy theories!

"Just do it! It's not like we have any better ideas!" Miroku said just as a demon ran forward and sank his fangs into his shoulder.

Behind him Kagome screamed as one of the demon spider bit her. The poison wasn't meant to kill, just incapacitate long enough so the spider could lay his eggs in her belly.

"Kagome!" Inuyasha growled and destroyed the spider with his claws. But the damage had been done and she was paralyzed. Luckily he had seen the spider before it could lay eggs.

While he picked her up and put her over his shoulder Sango got the demon off Miroku with a well placed strike from her back. However her form wasn't as clean as before and there was blood leaking slowly from her lips.

"Just call forth fire!" Miroku said struggling to sit up.

"Even if I could it's not like I know how!" Inuyasha said trying to fight with an unconscious Kagome over one arm.

"Just will it into being!" Miroku said unable to fight now that one arm had been slashed open and the other shoulder had been showed on. "You're the fire god! Will the fire there, it's your right as the god of courage and fire!"

"This is crazy!" Inuyasha growled slicing a demons head clean off as Kirara took over Sango's spot and Sango took over Miroku's.

"Believe you're the god, Inuyasha!" Miroku told his as he winced in pain. "I don't care how stupid it sounds! Believe in your power and call it into reality!"

"And what if I'm not this god? You think about that?"

Inuyasha turned and guarded Kagome's body by taking a claw strike to his back and screamed as four bloody slashes were gouged into his flesh.

"Inuyasha just call the damn fire!" Sango yelled as a demon stole her bat.

"Dammit!" Inuyasha cried turning around. Feeling slightly ridiculous but willing to try anything at that point, he raised his free claw and thought of fire.

"Visualize it, Inuyasha!" Miroku called to him. "The heat, the flames, the smell, the color! See it clearly in your mind!"

Inuyasha did as he was told. He brought up fire in his mind. Imagined it engulfing his hand in flames that didn't burn his flesh.

"Kill him." the albino girl said looking directly at Inuyasha.

Inuyasha couldn't feel fire so he didn't know if it was there, like Miroku said he was trusting in a fools dream and believing in something he didn't believe.

The other demons abondoned their attack on Miroku and Sango and Kirara and converged on him, their fangs and claws outstretched.

"Believe in fire." Inuyasha whispered to himself.

With a cry of rage and desperation, he brought his claw down in a quick and deadly swipe.

But his claws didn't connect with anything.

Instead, red hot flames shot out from his fingers and engulfed the demons coming right for him. Normal fire would have burned out quickly with nothing to really get a hold on but this was not normal fire.

This was a god's fire and it burned whatever he willed it to.

The demon's skin, be it dry or slimy, was suddenly burning. Hissing and screeching and roaring reached his sensitive ears. Even the pouring rain couldn't dim the flame's hot beauty.

"Let's get out of here!" Sango said as Kirara landed in front of her. "This is our chance!"

Inuyasha nodded and bundled Kagome's body more securely in his arms.

Kirara flew out of the ruined house, two injured humans on her back with Inuyasha just a leap behind them.

In mid air, he turned and brought his claws down again, picturing the flames.

Ever loyal, the flames hit the house and the gasoline soaked garage ignited giving the flames a better, stronger hold as the demons bodies below him were charred to a crisp.


	12. Recovery

**Disclaimer: No I do not own Inuyasha. That awesome privilege belongs to Romiko Takahashi. Thank you! **

...

**Chapter 12: Recovery**

Inuyasha set Kagome down gently onto the bed and pulled the blanket over her.

He and Kirara had ran/flown back to the city as fast as they could go with their burdens, then straight through to the other side. He had found a mostly deserted suburban area and had picked a large house he saw as the uninhabited.

Miroku had passed out halfway here leaving Sango to take care of the two of them while Inuyasha locked all the windows and doors and sealed any exists.

He laid Kagome down then started running through the house, making it as safe as he could for now so he could return to Kagome's side.

Seeing Miroku as the more seriously injured of the two, Sango found some bandages in the bathrooms and got to work fixing him as best she could. Whoever had owned this house had been rich. The two story house wasn't all that impressive from the outside but the inside was fabulous. Everything here looked expensive, particularly all the designer clothes in all the closets.

Sango wrapped his shoulder and arm with the brisk efficiency of one used to doing such things. Only after he was lying in bed, his shirt off and completely bandaged, did she go to Kagome.

Kagome had been scratched and bruised a little from the rubble of the collapsed house, but the only serious injury was that of the demon spider bite. But the poison was only a paralyzer, she would awaken again once it had run through her system. Sango put a band-aid on the bite and tried not to groan at the pain in her abdomen.

"Go lay down." Inuyasha said from the doorway.

"What?" she asked, her voice a little rough. She had thrown up on the way over and the acid had done a little damage on her throat.

"Your stomach hurts, doesn't it? Go lay down. I can watch them." he walked inside and sat on the bed next to Kagome.

"Are you sure? Aren't you tired?" Sango asked desperately wanting to take him up on the offer.

Inuyasha scoffed gently. "I'll be fine. It's you three who are the weak humans."

Sango smiled at him through the darkness of the room. "According to Miroku we're gods."

"According to me Miroku's an idiot." Inuyasha said to her. Even though Kagome wouldn't wake up, they were whispering. Almost as if they were afraid demons might find them again if they spoke too loudly.

Sango shook her head and looked at the wall where his room would be. "I can't believe he was right."

"He wasn't." Inuyasha said. "Just because I can...I'm not sure what to call it. Call fire or whatever doesn't make me a god."

"Then what's your theory?" Sango asked him.

Inuyasha shrugged. "Go lay down. I can watch them."

Sango nodded. "Thanks."

She left the room, leaving the door cracked behind her so Inuyasha could hear Miroku if he woke up.

He turned to Kagome's pale face sticking out of the covers and brushed a stray strand of hair out of her.

She groaned softly. "Inu...yasha...?"

"I'm right here." he said reaching under the blanket and taking her hand. "I'm right here."

Her face relaxed and she was gone again. Inuyasha wasn't even sure she had woken up at all.

* * *

"Hey. You're awake." Sango said sighing in relief as Miroku opened his eyes. The windows in this large house all had curtains or drapes which made their lives easier because they could open them when they wanted sunlight.

That was the first thing Miroku noticed. The sunlight coming in through a large window and illuminating Sango's face.

He smiled softly, "'But soft, what light? It is the east, and Juliet is the sun.'"

Sango laughed then clutched her stomach. "Shakespeare?"

He nodded. "Is your stomach alright?"

"Just a little sore. How about your arms?"

"I don't want to find out." he said honestly. There was an interesting numbness about them that he knew would spark into white hot pain should he move them. "Is Kagome alright? I remember her getting bit..."

"She's fine." Sango nodded. "Inuyasha says he can smell the poison fading. She's not up yet but she's breathing well and Inuyasha says her heartbeats fine."

"Good." he said trying not to breath too hard in case he disturb his arms.

"Here." Sango said reaching onto his bedside table and grabbing a plate he didn't notice. "It's cold but Inuyasha said to eat it. You need meat. You lost a lot of blood."

He nodded as she brought a plate of meat into his vision.

After a couple of very painful minutes where Sango apologized a lot, Miroku was sitting up and Sango was passing him bite sized pieces.

"How about Inuyasha? Is he alright?" Miroku asked between bites.

Sango nodded." He didn't sleep last night but he says he's fine. I don't think he'll sleep again until Kagome wakes up."

"He's very devoted to her." Miroku said after swallowing.

Sango smiled sadly. "I feel bad for him. For both of them. They're so dependant on one another. I can't imagine what would happen if one of them was to die."

Miroku looked at his lap. "They weren't as lucky as we were. They didn't find each other immediately. Now they're so close it's almost like an obsession. If one died the other would probably go mad."

* * *

Kagome groaned and sat up in the bed. She felt weak, heavy, like she had just got over a bad bout of the flu. And her head was pounding. Someone, bless their soul, had kept the curtains closed and, bless their soul again, left a glass of water and some Advil on the bedside table.

She swallowed them almost desperately.

"How's your head?" Inuyasha asked from the doorway.

She smiled at him. "Terrible. How did you know?"

"I was bitten once." he said coming inside and shutting the door behind him. "I was lucky I got away before the venom got to me. I nearly ate an entire bottle of Advil when I woke up."

Kagome chuckled softly as he sat down next to her.

"Where are we?"

Inuyasha shrugged. "A house. On the other side of the city. I uh...I blew up our old one."

"Blew it up? How did you do that?"

"The gasoline helped." Inuyasha admitted and told her what happened after she was bit.

Kagome laughed."Remind me not to go to sleep anymore. I apparently miss a lot."

He jumped onto the bed and sat down next to her, bringing her into his arms. "Don't ever do that to me again."

"What? Get bitten by a demon spider then pass out for a while?" she asked snuggling in close.

"Almost get killed by a bunch of five inch tall demons." he corrected. Breathing in her scent, not just to enjoy it like he normally did, but because he was checking how much venom was still in her veins. There was hardly any left.

They fell silent for a while. It was a comfortable silence, the kind of silence that you have with people you've known for years instead of a few short months. Yet Kagome felt like she had known Inuyasha all of her life.

"We need to talk to Miroku." she said at last.

"How did I know you were going to say that?" Inuyasha asked rhetorically.

"He knows the most about these 'gods'. If you actually did that with the fire-"

"Trust me. I did it." he looked at his claws as if he had never seen them before. "It was so strange. I've never done anything like that before, even as a half demon."

"We need to find out all we can." Kagome continued. "If we have a chance to fix our world-"

"Than we have to take it." Inuyasha finished for her.


	13. Water

**Disclaimer: No I do not own Inuyasha. That awesome privilege belongs to Romiko Takahashi. Thank you! **

...

**Chapter 13: Water**

"Try again!" Miroku said, his face the unhappiest Kagome had ever seen. Miroku was usually a nice man with a sweet disposition and temper but at that moment he looked as ready to blow as Inuyasha.

Inuyasha who was standing beside him looking like he wanted nothing more than to dig his claws into Miroku instead of the air like he was doing.

"Miroku, if it was going to happen, it would have happened at least 50 tries ago!" Inuyasha snarled.

From the porch Kagome sighed.

It was noon and since they wanted to keep this house in one piece as long as possible, Miroku had advised practicing outside with buckets of water at the ready just in case.

They were practicing Inuyasha's fire, trying to get him to control it.

'Trying' being the key word.

The buckets of water weren't necessary because Inuyasha had not once been able to summon fire like he had done before.

Sango and Kagome, both of them on water bucket duty, had found themselves sitting on the porch watching the guys get angry at each other and talking.

They found, to both of their surprise, that they had a lot in common and, even more shocking, actually began enjoying each others company. Kagome couldn't say Sango was a friend but she could say she didn't hate her anymore.

"When are they going to give up?" Sango asked.

"When Miroku sees some sparks." Kagome said reaching between their two porch chairs to the side table that held their lemon-aid.

Upon arriving, Inuyasha had taken the refrigerator out of the house and a few blocks away. None of them opened it because they didn't want to see what was inside. But the pantry had been well stocked and one of the things it held was a powder mix for lemon-aid. It wasn't bad either, particularly since it was the first drink Kagome had that wasn't water for at least a year.

Miroku took in a deep breath and let it out slowly. "Okay, we all saw you do it, so we know you can. Try it again." He spoke slowly and deliberately, obviously trying to keep a hold of his temper.

"No!" Inuyasha snarled, he was tired of looking like an idiot trying to summon fire and getting absolutely nowhere. "It's not going to happen, Miroku! Give it up!"

"You did it once you can do it again." Miroku said, his eyes hard. "Do exactly what you did then. Visualize the fire and bring it into existence."

Kagome, after a few meals, had felt in perfect condition. The venom from demon spiders never stayed in your system long, it was flushed out within, at most, a day.

Miroku, on the other hand, was still on the disabled list. He couldn't move his left arm because of the bite in his shoulder so Kagome and Sango and him had joined together to craft him a sling so hold it steady. His other arm could only be moved slowly and carefully and if it started bleeding again Inuyasha was to tell Sango who had threatened to tie him to his bed if he over worked himself.

So he was carefully trying to get Inuyasha to do exactly as he had done the other night.

"Okay, let's try and recreate everything exactly as it had been that night." Miroku said trying a new angle.

"What?" Inuyasha asked but Miroku was already summoning Kagome and Sango.

"Sango, stand on his right and look like you are getting thrashed by demons."

"I was on his left." Sango corrected. "Next to you because you couldn't fight anymore."

"Okay. Kirara!" Miroku called out.

The cat, who had been hunting the mice from the abandoned house, poked her tiny nose out of an upstairs window.

"Can you come down here and stand on Inuyasha's right? Transformed please?"

Kirara mewed once then jumped out the window. Halfway to the ground she was engulfed in flames and a much larger, more fierce demon cat took her place next to Inuyasha.

"Kagome, if you would be so kind as to lay down and pretend to be unconscious." Miroku said pointing his usable arm behind Inuyasha.

"This is so lame." Inuyasha grumbled as Kagome did as she was told.

"Okay." He himself sat down on the ground with Sango's assistance. Her stomach was a mass of purple bruises from being headbutted by that demon and it made moving difficult for her. But she swore she had experienced worse and grimaced through the pain.

"Inuyasha close your eyes and bring back the events from that night." Miroku said.

Inuyasha sighed and shut his eyes.

Miroku's voice took on a hypnotic tone as he spoke, trying to find out how Inuyasha did what he did.

"It's raining, hard. There is thunder in the distance but no visible lightning."

Inuyasha remembered, the rain soaking his hair and the wet locks getting into his eyes. The scent of rain washed away the other demon scents so he couldn't smell them.

"We're surrounded by demons, all of them led by the little girl in white."

Inuyasha remembered her very clearly. Her blank, emotionless eyes staring at him, ordering their death.

"Sango's hurt. I'm bleeding."

Inuyasha knew that. Miroku's blood, he could still smell it in the wound that hadn't completely closed yet. The scent of his blood brought back the memory of wood from their destroyed house and the faint hint of gasoline coming from the garage.

"Kagome cried out because she was bit and the venom knocked her out."

Inuyasha turned, his eyes still closed. That's right. Kagome had fallen, paralyzed and about to be the home to tiny spider eggs. He couldn't let that happen.

He felt it.

It was a feeling he had missed that night because of all the distractions. The rain, the smells, his hair, the demons, Kagome, they had all distracted him from this feeling.

It was a fire, and it seemed to be burning _in_him. But deeper than that. In him and through him; permeating every cell of his being. Of course the fire was there but it wasn't fed by anger.

No, he realized, this fire wasn't fury. This fire was fear. Fear and a deep need and instinct to protect.

His pack had been hurt, his friends had been hurt, Kagome had been hurt. The fire was a part of him, ready and willing to answer his call but he needed to believe in it. He hadn't believed since that night, not during Miroku's 'training'. He had only believed when, in that moment, Kagome's life mattered more than anything, and only then could he feel the fire like this.

Miroku was still speaking, detailing the scene, but his voice had faded. Inuyasha was focused on this fire. Fire that burned in his soul, a soul touched by evil and by good. He had no barrier because he was half evil but he wasn't affected by the others barriers because he was half pure. And the fire, his fire, burned in both of them, connecting them together and forcing them to live in the same body.

Inuyasha lifted his hand, his eyes were closed but he saw it. It took no more effort than walking to call it.

He _could _feel it, he realized next as it danced on his hand. But it didn't burn.

No, it felt _good. _It felt right. Fire was as much a part of him as his arm and where it touched his skin it felt deliriously wonderful. He basked in it, the flames that weren't hot to him.

"_Inuyasha!"_

It was not only like he wasn't in any kind of pain, it was like his skin had never felt pain in its life and only the memory of pleasure remained.

"_INUYASHA!"_

The flames, their beauty and silken touch, drove every thought from his mind. He felt only them, thought of only them.

_"Inuyasha, stop!"_

He knew that voice.

He opened his eyes and cursed.

Kagome and Sango had already emptied their water buckets onto the grass but it had done no good.

The flames were driven by Inuyasha and nothing could stop them.

Inuyasha looked around in a panic. He was standing in the middle of a small sea of flames, he himself was on fire and it still felt great but now with his eyes opened he wasn't lost to the feelings anymore.

"How do I turn it off, Miroku?" Inuyasha yelled looking at his arms.

"Uh...I haven't thought that far." Miroku admitted unable to do anything but stand there.

Sango was holding her stomach, the bruised muscles protesting from lifting and throwing the heavy water buckets and Kagome was following Miroku's advise and finishing digging a small trench that seperated Inuyasha from the house.

"Miroku, do something!" Inuyasha bellowed at him trying to turn the fire off himself. But a part of him didn't want to let go of the glorious feeling surrounding him and he was no more able to do it than he could saw his own arm off.

"Well, if we could find the god of water and healing, they might be able to put it out." he said slowly as Sango started helping Kagome dig although her stomach muscles screamed in protest.

"That's a great idea, Miroku." Kagome said sarcastically, wiping the sweat from her brow. "One problem though. We have no idea who that is!"

"I still say it's one of us." Miroku said.

Sango sighed. "Get real, Miroku!"

"No, he's right!" Inuyasha called to them.

He knew he was right. He could feel it. Not like the fire, it was different. It was a sort of recognition, a feeling that found and acknowledged the other powers. He had no barrier because he was part evil but they did because they were all pure.

"_You're_the one who said he wasn't right." Sango pointed out wishing they still had the convenience of running water.

"Well he is we just need to-"

"Ah!" Kagome screamed as a flame reached out and burned the hand that was digging desperately.

"Kagome!" Inuyasha called but he didn't move. He didn't want to risk spreading the flames further.

Kagome moaned in pain as she grasped her burned hand.

His fire wasn't like normal fire. Even a split seconds touch could burn the skin from your bones.

And Inuyasha knew that because he smelled her blood and saw it drip through her hand.

"Kagome!" He cried again. the flames got brighter and hotter as they responded to his need to protect her from danger. The problem was that the fire was the danger.

Kagome backed up, cradling her hand to her chest, tears falling down her face that was twisted with pain.

Miroku ran inside as Sango went to Kagome.

"I'm sorry! I'm sorry!" Inuyasha called out to her desperately.

A moment later Miroku reappeared, the smell of blood on him had strengthened and Inuyasha knew he had opened his wound.

"Here." Miroku said holding up a bottle of water.

"Don't put water on it, stupid!" Sango snapped at him.

"Not to pour on her." Miroku said. "One of us is the god of water and healing, fire god over there says so, ergo, one of us should be able to fix her."

"But we have no idea who it is." Sango said as Miroku twisted off the cap.

"Pray then." Miroku said. "Believe in water like Inuyasha believed in fire. All three of us. "If we believe in it and visualize it healing her, all three of us, than it is bound to work. We won't know who did it but it should help."

Inuyasha watched from his island of flames as Kagome nodded consent.

Reluctantly, she held out her hand. A section of the back had been burned off, it was bleeding sluggishly and the edges were dark and dead.

Inuyasha hated his own fire at that point.

"Here we go." Miroku said. "Close your eyes and believe in it.

Sango put her hand below Kagome's, holding it up as Miroku poured.

Kagome whimpered because even that tiny impact hurt. But it only lasted a second.

The water didn't flow off her hand, it pooled there, coating the wound.

It almost acted like skin, stretching itself over the burn, covering it and closing off the delicate nerve endings from the burning air. But it did more than that, it numbed. The burn faded and was replaced by a blessed coolness.

Inuyasha was the only one who saw it, the other three had their eyes firmly shut, believing with all their hearts in the water, each one praying that they were the god so it would heal.

But the wound didn't heal. The water just covered it and stopped the pain. It acted like both a bandage and medicine as the skin and muscle and nerve healed itself.

Kagome was the first to open her eyes, her face relaxed because the pain was gone. Sango followed her when she stopped hearing Kagome whimper then Miroku when the water bottle ran out of water.

All three of them looked at the shapeless blob of water that was acting as Kagome's skin and freeing her from the pain.

And all of them wondered: who had done it?


	14. Black Fire

**Disclaimer: No I do not own Inuyasha. That awesome privilege belongs to Romiko Takahashi. Thank you! **

...

**Chapter 14: Black Fire**

"Look out!" Inuyasha cried as the fire jumped.

All three of his friends fell back as the bright red flames started crossing the ditch Kagome didn't finish.

"Try to control it!" Miroku yelled. "We don't have time to find the water god, put it out!"

"How, genius?" Inuyasha yelled back.

"It's your fire!" Sango yelled. "We have three candidates for water god and we have no idea how to put it out. Besides, we're out of water. You have to try!"

Behind her and Miroku, Kagome was stroking the shining silver water that was covering the burn. She moved her hand and the water moved with it, as if it were a part of her. It didn't hurt at all and when she ran her finger over it she found that it was seamlessly connected to her real skin.

But more than the burn being gone, the water felt really good. Soothing, like it was taking away every pain her hand had ever felt.

Inuyasha cried out wordlessly in frustration. They said it like it was so easy. But they were right, this was _his _fire. If he could turn it on he could turn it right back off.

Theoretically.

Sango and Miroku jumped back as the fire started spreading across the grass and towards them and the house. Kagome was unmoving, staring at her hand as if she had never seen one before in her life.

"Okay, I have an idea." Miroku said holding up his hands to protect his face from the heat. "You know how you visualize? Well, try to visualize the flames getting colder. That might put them out."

"Colder? Alright, it's worth a shot."

Inuyasha closed his eyes. Without seeing it, he could now feel it. The flame was like another organ, he could feel it and control it. He just wished he knew how to. He took a deep breath and imagined the flames getting colder, their temperature dropping. Sinking. Lowering. Turning ice cold.

"Uh...Inuyasha?"

He opened his eyes, hoping it had worked, and cried out for what must have been the tenth time in the last hour.

The burning red flames were gone but in their place were black flames. They didn't feel any different to Inuyasha, they still felt incredible.

"My goodness..." Miroku smiled holding his hand out. The flames were still spreading only now they were...

Sango started shivering. "It's cold!" She said rubbing her arms.

"Cold?" Inuyasha repeated, sure he couldn't have heard her right.

"Freezing." Miroku confirmed as he starting shivering as well. "This is amazing, Inuyasha."

"We're so glad you're enterained." Sango glared at him.

The black flames seemed the polar opposite from normal fire. They spread cold instead of warmth and seemed to suck in light instead of give it.

"Okay, that didn't work." Miroku shook his head and told himself to concentrate. The new flames didn't burn by the obviously still spread and he needed to keep them from reaching the house. Though he was curious what would happen if he threw water on the flame. "Okay this time try visualizing it getting smaller. Shrinking from existence. Pull the fire to you and at the same time make it disappear."

"This better work." Inuyasha growled closing his eyes again.

He reached out with his mind to the edge of the fire that was sneaking closer and closer to his friends. He didn't realize that his hand had come up as well as if to reach out and grab the fire.

He focused on stopping it, keeping the edges where they were. He called out for the fire tos top, more like begged it to stop. And to his own surprise, it did.

The flames were his to command, he just neeeded to command them.

Come back, he said in his thoughts at the same time imagining the flames receding.

He could feel it, like it was a part of his flesh. The fire released it's hold on the grass and soil with little reluctance as it returned to the master that had called it. As loyal as a well trained dog, the fire came back.

Faster than he would have believed, the flames returned. The sea of flames centered on him, then it started climbing up his body, disappearing from existence as it went.

Inuyasha opened his eyes as the pleasant feeling stopped, draining from him from his feet up. He watched the fire with amazed eyes as it faded from his chest than his arm then his head until the only fire left was cupped in his hands. He blinked and the black flames vanished.

"I did it!" He said happily looking at his unburnt skin.

He turned around at twin squeals and saw Kagome and Sango were both turned around, their hands over their faces. Miroku was still facing him but his eyes were focused deliberately above his head.

"What's your problem?" Inuyasha grumbled.

"Well," Miroku cleared his throat, "while you may be fire proof, Inuyasha, I'm afraid your pants weren't."

He looked down then cried out again as he covered his exposed junk.

* * *

"He has discovered the blaack flame, master." The calm little girl who wore nothing but white said her eyes showing no emotion.

"Damn." the man she spoke to said without any real heat. "He has developed more control faster than I thought. He never discovered the black flame so quickly in his other lives."

"The water god has developed skin grafting as well."

"They found which one it is?" he looked impressed.

"No. They all tried to do it and now they know not which one it is, but they still know they are one them."

"Any others?" he asked his fist tightening.

"The wind god has yet to realize who he is and so has the earth god. But the young man with black hair is not stupid, he will realize it soon enough." She seemed totally undisturbed by this news, unlike her master who felt his anger growing.

"I will not go back to that box! Three times I have been sealed inside, I will not let it happen again."

"What do you wish me to do?"

"Kill the water god. In all her lives she has always been the weakest. She is not a fighter. With even one of their number gone they cannot re-seal me. But do it quickly, he has far too much control for my comfort. Now go, Kanna, and bring me back her head."

Kanna bowed and left the room.

'I will not go back." the man swore to the empty room. For too long he had been confined inside that cursed box and because their powers had been with him he had suffered inside it. He couldn't destroy the box, he learned that the first time he was released, but if he destroyed a god they couldn't put him back and he would be free to roam the land forever.


	15. Invasion

**Disclaimer: No I do not own Inuyasha. That awesome privilege belongs to Romiko Takahashi. Thank you! **

...

**Chapter 15: Invasion**

"So what's your theory this time?" Sango asked as Miroku sat down at the kitchen table.

"I haven't said anything yet." he cried.

"Doesn't mean you wont." Inuyasha said scooping his dinner into his mouth.

The sun was close to setting outside on their burnt and black lawn. All the curtains had been drawn plunging the house into darkness.

Inuyasha had found himself another pair of pants and boxers in one of the rooms, they were regular jeans this time. Sango had prepared their canned dinner as Inuyasha had not been able to go hunting and Miroku had locked himself up in his room. Kagome had been staring at her hand all, totally transfixed by it. See-through skin was fascinating if not kind of gross. She was next to Inuyasha, not really interested in her food.

"Yeah, so what is it?" Sango laughed toying with the peach slices in her can.

Miroku sighed. "Fine. I think we should take me out of the position of water god might be."

"Why?" Sango asked. "Please tell me you didn't try to breath in water and fail."

"Haha, no." He said dryly. "I mean I think I might be the wind god."

"Find another Greek myth?" Inuyasha asked taking Kagome's untouched can. By mutual agreement if she didn't eat it he would.

"No. I was thinking up in my room, trying to find a non-lethal way to find the water god, when I realized I haven't stopped thinking once in two years."

"So?" Sango asked.

"So. Who keeps thinking all the time without stopping?" He asked. "No one. Everyone takes some moments to just not think, maybe when their watching TV or something. Not me. I'm always thinking, I can't stop. And I wasn't always like this. It only started two years ago."

"Everything started two years ago." Inuyasha mumbled.

"Exactly! Only after I got hit with a ball of light."

"You assume you got hit with a ball of light." Sango pointed out.

"Why must I always be doubted?" he asked no one.

"Maybe it's just how you cope." Kagome said proving that she was, in fact, paying attention to more than just her hand. "Me and Inuyasha cope with everything by staying together. Maybe you cope by thinking."

"I thought that too." he said. "So I decided to test it."

"And how did you do that? Try to stop thinking?" Sango asked.

"I tried to move air." he said.

"Did it work?" Kagome asked.

He smiled at her and a breeze came into the room and started playing with all of their hair.

"Cool." Sango smiled.

"Don't put the candles out, I went through a lot of trouble to light them." Inuyasha said.

"Sorry." he said and the wind stopped. "Took me a while to learn how to do that. Air just feels so good though. I never noticed until recently how nice it feels and how it didn't used to feel this great."

"I know. Fire feels awesome." Inuyasha nodded.

"But that still leaves who the water god is." Sango pointed out.

"I have another theory."

"Surprise, surprise." Inuyasha said without any real heat.

"Kagome."

"What-?" She looked up from her hand. "What?"

"That right there is why I think she's the water god." Miroku smiled at her.

"Cause she's absent minded?" Sango asked.

"No. Because she hasn't taken her eyes off her hand in the last five hours." He smirked at her.

"Okay, if you could se the blood actually pumping through your veins and your muscles actually moving, you would look too." she said putting her hand under the table.

"Remember the expression on Inuyasha's face when he first started burning. He had the same look on his face that you do now. Fire, water, air, earth." he pointed to each of them in turn. "We're the four gods, so I think we should do what we were always meant to do. We need to put the evil back."

* * *

Kagome sighed and brushed her hair. Inuyasha was out marking his territory, Sango and Miroku had moved into different rooms and were probably sleeping by now. However, Kagome couldn't sleep without his presence.

She heard the creak of the wood floor and smiled. "Hey, ready for..." she turned around and gasped.

She wasn't sure how she had gotten in, but the girl in white was standing there, surrounded by a horde of the small demon spiders. "Seal the door." she said, her voice almost a whisper.

Kagome stood up and backed herself against the wall as the spiders wove a thick, steel-like web over the door.

"How did you get in?" Kagome demanded, her hands shaking. In her mind she was pleading that Inuyasha would come soon.

The girl didn't answer and the spiders stared at her, each of their glowing red eyes dark with hunger. These spiders wouldn't lay their eggs in her, this time they would just devour her. She could see it

Suddenly there was a pounding on the door, desperate and urgent. The wood cracked but the webs stayed strong.

"Kagome!" Inuyasha's voice called. "Leave her alone, you bastards!" The door cracked again.

More spiders came forward and weaved more web on top of that one, sealing the door even more completely.

Kagome's hand tightened on her brush, it wasn't much but it was all she had.

On the other side of the door, Inuyasha was pounding the door with his fists that had begun to bleed. The door was practically destroyed but the spider webs held the pieces in place. He was joined by Sango and Miroku who were taking turns hitting the door with a bat between Inuyasha's punches and kicks and claw marks.

"Burn it!" Miroku yelled.

Inuyasha didn't need telling twice and his fire responded immediately, drawn by his response to protect. But though the door burned, it stayed in place, unmoved.

The fire got hotter when Kagome's scream echoed into the hallway.

Inside Kagome was keeping the demons at bay with her hairbrush as a bat and kicked them when she could.

Then, with no signal she could see, they stopped and crowded around the girl in white.

In a movement Kagome recognized, the girl raised her hand and pointed at Kagome.

The demons attacked all at once this time.

Kagome screamed and covered her head in an instinctive move that she knew would do no good.


	16. Other Half

**Disclaimer: No I do not own Inuyasha. That awesome privilege belongs to Romiko Takahashi. Thank you! **

...

**Chapter 16: Other Half**

Kagome cringed, waiting for the piercing fangs that were meant to kill her.

But nothing happened.

Cautiously, she opened her eyes.

"The barrier." she whispered.

It had been gone for a while but there it was, sparkling bright blue and keeping the sea of spider demons at bay. Every now and then, one would get brave and try to touch it but they backed off, the leg they had touched it with bleeding or burnt.

Kagome breathed a sigh of relief and leaned against the wall.

The little girl looked unaffected by this new development.

"Time to go." she said in her quiet voice.

She turned to the window and followed the spider demons out, the first ones through breaking the glass for her.

"Kagome! Answer me!"

Kagome became aware of her friends yelling for her from beyond the door.

"I'm alright!" she yelled back. Suddenly she felt tired, so very tired. "I'm alright." She whispered, this time to herself.

* * *

The roar echoed through the dark building.

"Damn that Tsubaki. She said the barriers were gone completely thanks to her spell." he drummed his fingers on the arm of the chair he sat in.

"It didn't return until that instant." Kanna said quietly. "Until she felt real fear for her life."

"Her magic is not enough to conquer theirs. At least not permanently." he said his anger cooling as he began to think. "And now that they are awakening, they'll be getting stronger. Those pathetic demons won't be enough anymore."

"What do you want me to do?" Kanna asked looking as if she didn't care.

The man sat there, thinking. "We can not get close to them, not so long as those cursed barriers remain in place and not even Tsubaki's spells are affecting them."

"What should we do then?"

He smiled, "Fortunately, the barriers are not permanent. They fade away, eventually. Unfortunately, not until they have mastered their elements. The barriers are their magic protecting them because they can not do it themselves. Until they are trained I can not get near them. Kanna." His smile was dark, evil that could send chills down the spine. "Send the weak demons after them. Let them gather their strength. When they are ready and the barriers are gone, we will destroy them."

* * *

"Sango, are you alright?" Kagome asked walking out onto the back porch. With the front yard nothing but ash, they were using the backyard for training instead.

That day Miroku had been practicing playing with wind. He was getting the hang of it much faster than Inuyasha and Kagome was waiting until he tried to direct her before she tried tampering with her own power. She didn't know what she could do if she tried it alone.

"Yeah." Sango nodded.

She was sitting on the last step, her shoes off and her feet in the grass.

"What are you doing?"

"Trying to feel the earth." Sango admitted as if she expected Kagome to laugh.

"That's great. How's it going?"

Sango sighed. "I don't feel any different. You all talk about your elements like being in contact with it is the best feeling in the world but I can't feel mine. What if Miroku's wrong about me?"

"He's not." Kagome promised sitting next to her. It was the first time Inuyasha had let her out of his sight all day. They hadn't been able to break the door down and Kirara had flown up to the window and helped her out by flying her down. "Even Inuyasha said he could feel our powers. You just..." Kagome bit her lip because she didn't know what Sango was doing wrong.

Sango looked down in defeat. "The grass feels the same and so does the dirt. Maybe...Maybe Miroku and Inuyasha are both wrong. Maybe it's some one else."

"You're the only one who got hit by the ball of light. You've been traveling for two years. If you were going to find some one else you would have done it by now." Kagome said trying to comfort the girl. Despite their rather rough beginning, Kagome was starting to respect, even like, Sango.

Sango sighed again and lifted her feet back onto the porch.

"Meow."

Both girls turned at Kirara's tiny call. She tilted her small head and looked at Sango in worry.

"Hey, girl." Sango said. "I'm okay. Just a little...disappointed."

Kirara meowed again and walked over and jumped onto ehr lap.

Sango smiled and began petting her beloved companion. "Kirara was there for me, you know." She said to Kagome though she was still looking at the cat. "When I woke up, she was sitting by my bed, in her other form, a few demon bodies scattered around her. She had protected me while I couldn't."

Kagome looked at Kirara, confused. "You know what I don't understand."

"What?" Sango asked still petting Kirara, her very presence was soothing to her.

"I can understand why Inuyasha's let through the barriers."

"Has Miroku come up with any theories about why they disappeared yet?" Sango interrupted.

Kagome shook her head. "Not yet. Anyway, the barriers wont keep out another god, so they don't harm him. But why do they let Kirara in?"

Sango shrugged. "Miroku says it's our love, we care so much for each other that it's overcoming everything."

"No. That doesn't seem right." Kagome shook her head slowly. "Not to say you don't love each other because I know you do but...I loved my family just as much and they all lost their minds. Inuyasha positively adored his mother, and she lost her mind. I don't that's it."

"You have a theory?" Sango asked, smiling slightly.

"Put your feet back on the ground." Kagome said, inspiration striking.

"Why?" Sango looked confused.

"Just do it."

She shrugged but did as she was told. "I don't see why-oh!"

She felt it.

The earth beneath her feet, it had never felt so _alive_. And not just the soil, but the plants, the root system stretching miles in every direction. The worms digging in the dirt, the insects crawling through everything. Sango closed her eyes and her mouth fell open as she was assaulted with a feeling of _right _that she had never known before. The ground felt good, a part of her. Each rock, each twig, each leaf was a part of her. An extension of her body that she had only just-

"Hey!" Sango's eyes snapped open as the feelings just suddenly stopped. "What-?"

She looked over and saw Kagome with Kirara in her hands, a smile on her face. "She has the other half of your power. Come on, we have to tell Miroku."

Kagome stood up and ran back in, Kirara cradled to her chest leaving Sango outside, still reeling from the sudden assault of feelings then their ubrupt end.


	17. Promise

**Disclaimer: No I do not own Inuyasha. That awesome privilege belongs to Romiko Takahashi. Thank you! **

...

**Chapter 17: Promise**

"Fascinating." Miroku said after hearing Kagome's story. "And it only works when she's in contact with both the earth and Kirara?"

"That's right." Kagome smiled, the demon cat still in her arms. "I feel proud of myself, I thought of something before Miroku did."

"Well, I'm focusing on trying to find out where our barriers went and why they suddenly came back. I didn't even notice they were gone." He admitted sheepishly.

"Me either." Sango said taking Kirara back. "I suppose I should have but we've just had so much on our minds..."

"The important thing is that it disappeared at all." Inuyasha said from the couch while Kagome walked over and sat next to them. Sango and Miroku were still standing. "If they did it once they could do it again. We have to train ourselves. We can't be caught off guard like that again."

"Again?" Sango repeated. "You think this will happen _again?"_

"Look, the same girl in white was there both times." Inuyasha said. "And she ordered the demons to attack, both times. Either she's behind this or she's working for some one who is. If they did this twice, they're probably going to keep trying. We have to be able to defend ourselves. We need to start practicing."

"Inuyasha's right." Miroku said. "It's more than just coincidence. They followed us here. I can only assume because we're the four gods. They're afraid of us. We should sharpen our skills. We'll start in the morning. For now, let's go back to bed. I moved out of my room so you two can have that one."

"Thanks, Miroku." Kagome said gratefully. She really didn't want to go back to the other one.

"Coming, Sango?" Miroku smiled at her.

"Yeah. Uh..." she looked at Kagome and bit her lip. "Thanks. You know, for uh...helping me."

Kagome smiled. "No problem."

Sango smiled back and followed Miroku down the hall.

"I think I kind of like her." Kagome smiled up at Inuyasha. She was tucked into his side with his arm behind her on the couch.

"It's because you've determined she's not a threat." Inuyasha said. "Are you alright."

"For the hundredth time, I'm fine." she assured him laying her head on his shoulder. "What do you think will happen, if we put the evil back in the box."

Inuyasha shrugged his free shoulder. "Who knows. Maybe things will go back to the way they were."

"You know, I never thought of it before, but all these demons, they're people. And we've killed them. What if they were some one we knew? Some one we loved?" she asked him, worried.

"Don't think about it." he said. "They attacked us first and we had no choice. You know that."

"Yeah. I know." Kagome nodded. "But the demons kill each other, too. What if things go back to normal and my family..."

"Then you can live with me." Inuyasha said looking down at her.

"Really?" She said, looking up into his eyes.

"Absolutely." He smirked. "No matter what happens, no matter what the future brings us, we'll always be together. Okay?"

"Promise?" Kagome asked.

"Promise." he leaned forward and kissed her forehead.

It would have been simple, just another touch they shared. It would have been a seal on the promise, it would have been nothing more than comfort. Had his enhanced hearing not heard her heartbeat speed up when his lips touched her skin.

He started to lean back and stopped, just an inch away from her flesh.

Kagome was frozen, her heart pounding traitorously in her chest and her breathing speeding up slightly to match it.

"Why are you nervous?" the question was so quiet he might have simply breathed it.

Kagome closed her eyes and tried to control her reaction but her body didn't obey her commands.

"Kagome." he tilted his head to look at her but her eyes were shut. "Hey." he said, his whisper even softer, as he lifted her chin with his finger. As her face rose, her eyes opened and they stared into his, nervous and slightly afraid.

He stared at her for a moment, a moment when Kagome felt so anxious she was sure she was about to explode.

Then he smirked.

"You know, if you wanted a kiss, you could have just asked."

She gasped when he picked her up by the waist and sat her in his lap, her legs laying along the length of the couch. Her face was red and her heart was hammering and his smirk was so arrogant and yet so attractive.

He put his hand behind her neck and pulled her to his lips. But he stopped, just one short centimeter away. She could smell his breath on her face, the aroma coming off his skin. He smelled..._wild_. Wild and untamed.

He smirked when he saw her lips tremble in anticipation. Oh, how he had wanted this. Those first few nights sleeping together had been about comfort and nothing more. But waking up to her body, her thin and supple body, curled around his, was stimulating in ways she couldn't imagine. And days of waking up with her body pressed against his, leaning against him, was simply incredible.

Her breath was hot and fast, her lips parted slightly, almost as if they were trying to invite him in.

Who was he to deny them?

He closed the gap and thrust his tongue inside. She gasped but didn't object. Her hand was on his shoulder holding on as he leaned her back. One hand was on her neck, pushing her forward even as his lips moving against hers pushed her back, and the other was on her leg, tracing his claws along the sensitive skin behind her knee.

She made a sound in the back of her throat, a tiny little whimper as she arched her back up putting her body in contact with his. SHe did it again when he started sucking on her bottom lip.

Then she got braver, and started tracing the outline of his large fangs with her tongue. Inuyasha growled deep in his chest, the vibrations did funny things to her body.

"Eh-hem."

They both jumped and broke apart.

"Sorry to interrupt," Miroku said, "I think I left one of my books in the kitchen."

He had made it to his door in the hallway by the time the coaster Inuyasha had picked up from the coffee table made contact with his head.


	18. Feelings

**Disclaimer: No I do not own Inuyasha. That awesome privilege belongs to Romiko Takahashi. Thank you! **

...

**Chapter 18: Feelings**

From that day on, Miroku would take them out into the backyard and start training them. He had better control over his element than any of them.

After a week of practice, not only could he call up a breeze with a whim, he could put objects out in midair and they wouldn't fall if he wished. He learned to make a mini-twister that was no less destructive for its small size. As he practiced, he could and did knock over a portion of the backyard fence with a wave of air that was more like a brick wall. Accepting, harnessing, and unleashing his power was easy for him.

Inuyasha was also making great progress. Now, when he made a slashing movement with his claws the fire would appear without needing to protect someone. He was held back slightly by the fear that he would lose control again and set the yard on fire. He actually feared this so much that Kagome and Sango spent an afternoon pulling out all the grass from the ground and throwing it in one of the other houses yards. It wouldn't stop the fire from burning as it was a magical fire but now it wouldn't spread rapidly. They also put a ring of buckets full of water around the yard that they could throw on the fire if they needed to. Inuyasha was slightly mollified by the changes and had stopped fearing his fire so much. Miroku discovered a trick with him. When Miroku called his mini-twister, Inuyasha could send a fire ball inside and the two elements together caused more damage than they could separately.

Fire balls were Inuyasha's favorite trick. He enjoyed playing with them so much he could juggle four of them now.

Sango and Kirara had to work together for their element. Sango always had to be touching Kirara. So Sango could usually be seen with her cat perched delicately on her shoulder. She had trouble getting the hand of things but once she did, nothing could stop her from learning. Like, Inuyasha, once she finally figured it out, she was practically a master. Her favorite pastime was taking rocks and molding them into different shapes. She already had tiny figurines of Kagome, Inuyasha, Miroku, and herself and she was currently making one of Kirara. Rock, soil, gravel, it was a lot like play dough to her. It formed itself to her will and when she changed it, it was still as strong as ever.

Kagome was the only one who couldn't immediately grasp and understand her element. Miroku, more often than not, let her experiment on him. His arms hadn't healed yet and he would unwrap the bandages to let her try and give him the same skin graft she had on the back of her hand.

But it wasn't working.

Kagome would bite her lip in concentration, focus so hard the entire world was blocked out, and command, even beg, with all her being that the water do as she asked but nothing would happen. Miroku would end up re-wrapping his wounds, leaving Kagome wondering what she could be doing wrong.

"Hey, don't beat yourself up." he said patting her knee. They were sitting on the backporch, a bowl of water between them that hadn't moved an inch since they had started over an hour ago. "This is complex stuff."

"I know I don't have another half like Sango, so what am I doing wrong?" she asked him, her face dejected.

"It will be fine. You'll see. You'll get the hang of it soon."

"Maybe you need an emotion." Inuyasha said.

They both turned and saw him framed in the doorway.

"An emotion?" she repeated, confused.

"Sure. I use the need to protect. The feeling like I have to. That's where my fire comes from. Maybe you need something like that." he walked forward and sat on her other side.

"I already want to heal him. What else could there be?" she asked.

Inuyasha thought as he scratched his head.

"OH! I have an idea!" He said triumphantly. "I want you..." he paused for dramatic affect, "to take...a bath!"

Kagome blinked at him, then scowled. "There are easier ways to tell me I stink, you know." Behind her, Miroku was laughing under his breath.

"No! That's not what I meant." he said. "I mean, I didn't notice what caused my fire until I was surrounded by it, maybe it will work for you too."

Kagome sighed. "All right."

* * *

That's how Kagome found herself in the large bathtub in the master bedroom up to her neck in water Inuyasha had tried to warm up with fire but was still pretty cold. She was wearing the two piece yellow, polka dot bikini that Sango found in the drawers in her room. She was up to her chest in cold water and there were goosebumps on her skin.

"I don't think it's working." she said to her audience. "I'm just cold."

"Which is odd." Miroku said keeping his eyes on the bathroom wall. He had been staring at Kagome but after both Sango and Inuyasha punched him, he had diverted his attention. "Inuyasha can stand in the middle of fire no matter the temperature and be just fine."

"Are you sure you don't have another half?" Sango asked petting her cat who was in her arms.

"Yeah." Kagome nodded. "I woke up alone. I was alone until Inuyasha-Inuyasha! What are you doing?"

She asked when he walked over, still clothed, and got into the tub opposite of her.

"Give me your hands." he said holding out his own just above the surface of the water.

"You're not my other half." Kagome said but did as she was told.

"Close your eyes." he said taking them. "It's easier to feel when you close your eyes."

Kagome sighed but did as he asked. Now there was nothing to distract her from the cold water that now reached her neck.

"Okay, now try to meditate." Inuyasha told her. "You two, go away."

"But-" Sango started.

"Come on, Sango. Some things are better done in private." Miroku said. She heard two pairs of footsteps then the closing of a door. All that was left was the cold of the water and the candles Inuyasha had lit bringing in warmth above it.

"Okay, deep breaths." Inuyasha said. "Focus on finding your power. I know it's hard but you can do it."

Kagome's brow furrowed as she looked inside herself. She had no idea what she was looking for, wasn't even sure it was a_ thing _she was looking for. But she trusted him, if he said-

Kagome's eyes snapped open when his lips connected with hers.

The kiss was brief and sweet. He leaned back, smiling. "Sorry, you looked so cute, I couldn't help myself."

Kagome blushed and smiled. Feeling giddy, she closed her eyes again and tried to focus on herself and not to too cold-

Wait.

The water. It wasn't-

But even as she tried to focus on that, the temperature seemed to drop again.

"Inuyasha," she said, her eyes still closed, "kiss me again."

"Well, don't twist my arm about it." he laughed.

She was prepared this time, but the feel of his lips against hers was still an electric shock to the system. And as his mouth moved against hers, she was able to notice in the back of her brain that the water wasn't cold anymore. In fact, it felt perfect. Not cold, not hot, but balanced somewhere in the middle so she might not have been in water at all.

She pulled back first and looked at him. "Are you heating up the water?'

"No. Should I be?" he asked, raising an eyebrow.

Kagome put her arms around him and pushed him against the back of the tube and stole a kiss this time. Inuyasha's hands dropped hers in surprise but moved to her waist.

"Not that...I'm complaining..." he said between kisses. ",,.but shouldn't...we be...trying...to get your...power working?"

"It is working." Kagome said taking her hand out of the water and rubbing his ear.

His back arched slightly and he groaned deep in his throat. "Well, you can't exactly heal someone while doing this. Would be kind of awkward don't you think?" He asked between clenched teeth. Her fingers were so nimble and soft.

Kagome leaned back, her breathing rough.

"You're right. But when I'm kissing you, everything feels perfect." she was nibbling on her bottom lip, something he desperately wanted to do but he restrained himself.

"Then, think of me. Maybe it will work."

Kagome sat back down on her side of the tub and Inuyasha picked her hands back up. This time he just held them in his won under the water. "Think of me."

So she did. She thought of his bravery and his strength. She thought of his goodness and his strong heart. She thought of everything he meant to her.

Then she felt it.

It wasn't until she let herself feel what he meant to her, let it flow powerfully through her veins like a strong wine, did she feel her powers. They were there, underneath everything. Getting stronger, then backing off, getting stronger, then backing off. Like waves, ebb and flow.

Only when she thought of Inuyasha's meaning to her did she finally snese them.

"Love." she whispered.

Love was what she needed to feel. Not the need to heal, not the need to help, not the need to protect. Love, such a simple and yet complex emotion.

She leaned her head back as she felt the water move against her skin, it felt incredible. Now she knew what the others were talking about. That one spot on her hand wasn't enough to make her feel like_ this_.

It took her a minute to notice the pair of lips moving against her own again.

She opened her eyes and smiled against Inuyasha's mouth.

"You are so cute when you do that." he said leaning back slightly.

Okay, maybe two things could feel that incredible.


	19. Destiny

**Disclaimer: No I do not own Inuyasha. That awesome privilege belongs to Romiko Takahashi. Thank you! **

...

**Chapter 19: Destiny**

Training wasn't the only thing going on.

Every night, at least one demon would come after them. Ogres, spider heads, toad, all kinds. Miroku said it was a good way to test their new powers. Sango said it was a good way to lose sleep.

So they ended up sleeping until past noon and staying up through most of the night. It wasn't too bad, Kagome actually felt better being aware at night when demons were hunting. They weren't hard to beat, in fact, compared to those two nights when they had been attacked by hordes of demons they were extraordinarily easy.

Too easy. Miroku had become suspicious.

"That's it! I'm putting my foot down!" He said slamming his book closed.

"What?" Sango asked, confused.

She and Inuyasha had been out front killing the snake demon that was their visitor that night.

"Do you two not see what is going on?" he growled standing up from the love seat he had been reading on. Kagome had been on the sofa, sewing the hole in one of her shirts.

"We're kicking demon ass?" Inuyasha asked making Sango give him a high five.

"No! We're being led like lambs to slaughter!"

"Come on, that's a little dramatic." Sango rolled her eyes.

Miroku groaned in frustration and lept to his feet. "I have been right about everything since the beginning why do you still doubt me!"

"Miroku, calm down." Kagome said putting her sewing aside. "What are you talking about?"

"Do you not find it odd," he started pacing, "that, twice, we're hunted down by a small army of demons who are obviously after our blood. And now, we get these daily demons so week we could slay them with our eyes closed, especially with our new powers?"

"So?" Sango asked scratching her ear.

"So, why?" he asked stopping and glaring at them. "We are being attacked by weak demons that is more like target practice than anything. You and Inuyasha made a game out of it!" He threw up his hands in anger.

It was true, they did make a game. Sango would throw rocks and Inuyasha threw fireballs and where ever you hit determined how many points you got. Legs were worth 5, the torso; 3, the arms; 7, and the head; 10. If you missed the demon entirely you lost two points.

Inuyasha was currently winning with 203 points against Sango's 197.

"Some one obviously wants us dead so why are we suddenly fighting weak demons that we can kill with barely any effort?"

"Wait, what makes you think some one wants us dead?" Inuyasha asked.

Miroku had to visually calm himself. "They sent the girl in white to come kill us, or maybe it is the girl in white. Either way, we are obviously doing exactly what they want us to-"

"You don't know that." Sango said.

"Yes, I do!" Miroku yelled and a wind ripped threw the room, throwing things around.

"Miroku, calm down!" Sango yelled holding her hair out of her face while Inuyasha knocked a picture frame out of the air that was coming right at his face. "Okay, okay! We're listening. Sheesh."

Miroku took a deep breath and as he let it out the air stopped flowing. "Sorry. Okay. Look, we know, from Kagome's grandpa, that the four gods were the ones to put evil back in the box. So, if this evil has escaped three times it probably doesn't want to go back. That means, he wants to get rid of us."

Inuyasha cocked his head in thought and Sango 'hmm'ed. Proving that they were listening so he wouldn't lose control again.

"Are we just going to live our lives like this? Fighting demons, living in houses that aren't ours, living the same day over and over again?"

"We don't have much choice." Sango shrugged.

"We do so!" Miroku snapped. "As the four gods it's our job to put the evil back, and we need to do that! It's been released before, never to this degree I can give you that, but it has happened. We can put things right, the way they're supposed to be. It's our destiny. It's why those balls of light chose us."

Inuyasha blinked. "Well, that's all well and good Miroku, but I don't know the first thing about sealing evil and since Kagome's grandpa has been lost to the demon world we can't exactly ask him."

"We still have to try." Kagome said standing up with Miroku. "The world probably won't go back to the way it used to be but we can at least give people back their minds and bodies. Make things normal again."

"Um, wait." Sango said. "I remember that story, okay. Her grandfather said it took the four gods' _lives _to put the evil back. Doesn't that mean it would kills us, too?"

They fell silent at that revelation.

Sango continued talking, "I mean, fixing things is a great idea. But it would kill us. Are you ready to except that? We're only like, 19, we haven't really lived yet."

"Sango, look at our world." Kagome said looking around at the old house they were in. "Any dreams we had are gone. Our family, our friends, it's all gone. Miroku is right, we don't really have lives. We're more like ghosts of the past, walking around alone and unnoticed. We're the weirdos here, we're the outcasts."

Sango bit her lip. "I just don't know if I'm ready to die."

Inuyasha scoffed. "You all talk like it's going to happen, like it's inevitable. I don't know about you, but I plan on living. Whether we put the evil back or not."

"Look, we don't have to decide tonight." Miroku said putting a hand on Kagome's shoulder. "We can decide tomorrow. Let's go to bed, think over our options. If we do this, we have to be together, all of us. With even one of us missing it won't work, we have to all agree. It's a sacrifice but some things are bigger than us. The fate of our world and all the people in it is way bigger than us."


	20. Thinking

**Disclaimer: No I do not own Inuyasha. That awesome privilege belongs to Romiko Takahashi. Thank you! **

...

**Chapter 20: Thinking**

Sango sighed and rolled over. It was her turn to sleep on the floor that night and she could hear Miroku's light snores on the bed above her.

How he could sleep was beyond her.

He and Kagome were both so eager to throw away their lives and she knew where Kagome went Inuyasha would follow. The only uncertain element was her.

It wasn't that she didn't feel like the fate of the world was more important than her own fate but...

Gods above she didn't want to die. She was only nineteen! She had never fallen in love except that one time but she had been 5 then. Going off and practically killing herself was going against everything she had been struggling to do for the last two years. What all of them had been struggling to do for the last two years.

Survive!

That's what it was all about in this warped and twisted world; survival.

Inuyasha had a seemingly easy solution, just don't die!

_"I don't know about you, but I plan on living!"_

His words echoed in her mind. How could he be so nonchalant about it? So uncaring? This was his own life he was talking about. If they went of and tried to re-seal the evil their chances of dieing increased from their already sky high total. Living in a world of demons was dangerous enough but going off and trying to put all the demons away was suicide.

But Miroku was right, he always was. These weak demons were suspicious now that she thought about it. Some one, somewhere, was planning something against them. So going against this unknown being who wanted them dead could kill them too. So many ways they could die and no one seemed to care but her.

She was scared, of course she was. The thought of dieing didn't appeal to her at all. Sango had never been the self sacrificing type. While not selfish, she had always made sure that she was happy. She was no martyr, she was no saint. She wanted to be happy and made sure that she was, not at the cost of another unhappiness, but she never let herself be miserable.

So going off, knowing she was going to die, went against everything she had done, not just for the last two years, but her entire life!

Sango sighed and again and stood up. She looked once at Miroku's sleeping form before picking Kirara up off the bed and leaving the room.

Despite the fact that the sun wasn't up yet, she went outside to the backyard.

She didn't want to put herself in danger of demons but she needed to feel the earth around her.

Kirara meowed gently, and looked up at her.

"Sorry for waking you up." Sango said scratching her ears. "But this is the easiest way for me to think."

She sat down in the middle of the lawn and laid back, her hair creating a ring around her head. She put her cat on her stomach where she rolled up into a ball and went back to sleep.

Sango breathed a sigh of relief at returning to earth and closed her eyes.

This is where she felt at home. Miroku was right about them not really having a home anymore, and the only place she felt that feeling of welcome and security was laying down against the earth like this. She wasn't afraid of bug bites, the bugs were a part of her now.

She slipped into a trance, not sleeping because her mind was still working, but her body was resting now.

If she did go off and try and re-seal evil nothing would be the same. It would be a lot like when she first woke up two years ago to find the life she knew had been destroyed.

Those first three weeks had been confusing, disorienting. She had Kirara, true, but that was all. Her family was gone, nothing was the same, she didn't sleep for fear of not waking up. It was only her and Kirara, until she met Miroku...

_**Flashback**_

_"Good job, Kirara." Sango said running into the empty gas station. Empty now because the toad demon that had been inside had been destroyed by her cat._

_She was starving, it was hard getting food and harder fighting demons that wanted the same food._

_"Here." Sango said opened a few cans of cat food and placing them before Kirara who transformed before digging in. Only when her faithful companion was eating, did Sango grab a can of ravioli, open it, and begin eating it cold. she ate everything cold nowadays. When that can was gone, she grabbed the next one and starting eating._

_Halfway through with it, she heard a thunk come from the restrooms._

_She and Kirara both froze and looked at the door with fear._

_There was a burst of flames behind her, then a much larger Kirara walked in front of her, her large fangs bared at the door._

_"Careful." Sango whispered._

_Slowly, Kirara put her head forward and grabbed the door handle between her teeth._

_Sango grabbed a can of wet dog food, what neither of them would eat, and prepared to throw it at whatever enemy lurked within. She nodded to Kirara._

_Quickly, Kirara threw her head back and ripped the door from it's frame._

_Sango tensed for whatever was inside to attack-_

_But when the door was gone, the only thing that came out was a human boy. He was covered in some kind of green slime and looked half had been leaning against the door and when it had been ripped away his body fell to the floor._

_Sango didn't know it then but he had been trapped inside one of the toad demons eggs, his soul ripening for the toads dinner._

_"It's a boy." Sango said in shock as Kirara pawed him gently._

_He looked like he had been severely beaten and there was a kitchen knife in his left hand that had obviously done him no good at all._

_He groaned and looked at her threw half closed eyes. "Are you real?" he whispered then laughed once without humor. "Guess it doesn't really matter." Then his eyes closed and he passed out._

_**Normal**_

After that Sango had put him on Kirara's back and taken him back to her house where she had been living. They stayed there until a particularly nasty ogre demon evicted them a month later. That's when they began traveling.

Back then Sango hadn't worried about living happily, just about living. Had some one asked her if she was ready to die then, she would have said, much like Miroku, 'Guess it doesn't really matter.'

Now? It was different.

She had been having fun, she had discovered this power which gave her so much joy.

With a flash of guilt, she realized that the only reason she had this gift was so she could put the evil back. Would it abandon her if she denied her destiny?

_"I don't know about you, but I plan on living!"_

Maybe Inuyasha was onto something. Maybe there was a way, a way none of the other gods had discovered, that would enable them to survive. If there was a way to return their world and let them keep living, shouldn't they take it?

Inuyasha wouldn't let Kagome die and Sango wouldn't let Miroku die, if they failed they could go on living like this but if they did find a way then wouldn't it all be worth it?

_I don't know about them,_ she thought happily, _but I plan to live. And I plan to bring everyone back to normal, I will have both._


	21. Plan

**Disclaimer: No I do not own Inuyasha. That awesome privilege belongs to Romiko Takahashi. Thank you! **

...

**Chapter 21: Plan**

They found Sango the next day, half buried in dirt. Not like a hill had formed around her but like she had sunk into the earth and dirt and plants had converged on her to act as a blanket.

"Uh...Sango?" Miroku leaned down and poked her shoulder with his finger. His arms were covered in a sparkling blue skin-like water covering much like the one that covered the halfway healed burn on Kagome's hand.

Sango yawned and opened her eyes and then shut them immediately from the sun shinning in her eyes.

"Sango, what are you doing?" Kagome asked leaning over her, Inuyasha standing beside her standing straight up.

"I was sleeping." Sango said sitting up. She looked down in surprise at the dirt that fell off her shoulders and chest. Kirara wasn't there anymore so she couldn't feel the earth.

"Why out here?" Miroku stood back up.

"I was thinking." Sango stood up, the dirt and plants releasing their hold on her almost unwillingly, and dusted off her clothes.

"Don't scare us like that, we thought you had left. We couldn't find you." Kagome said looking at her.

For a moment, Sango wondered why. Then she realized, she was the only one who had protested last night. What better way to say no to dieing than to leave.

She laughed once and smiled at them. "So, any thoughts on where the head demon would be?"

"Head demon?" Kagome asked, tilting her head to the side.

"Yeah, you know. The guy who wants to kill us? The head honcho? Leader? Big kahuna?"

"That's it!" Inuyasha said suddenly making all three of them jump.

"What?" Miroku asked, his hand over his heart as if he was trying to keep it from leaping from his chest.

"Big kahuna." He said triumphantly to Kagome.

"I don't get it." Kagome said looking at him like he was crazy.

"You know, your shrine." he said to her.

Kagome gasped as the memory returned to her of the first night she had met Inuyasha.

_Kagome shrugged. "Same, mostly. I lived up on Higurashi Shrine..."_

_"That shrine on that huge hill?" he interrupted._

_"Yeah. Have you heard of it?" she asked wondering at his reaction._

_"Hell yeah. No wonder you abandoned the place." he said. "Demons love fighting over that hill. It's a favorite spot to live."_

_"Why?" she asked, her brow furrowing._

_He shrugged. "Who knows? He who lives on big hill is big kahuna? I guess. Just because I'm part demon doesn't mean I think like one."_

"The shrine." Kagome said in awe.

"Pardon me, but what are you talking about?" Miroku interrupted them.

"Kagome used to live on Higurashi shrine." Inuyasha said. "Demons are always surrounding that hill. Fighting over it, and no matter how many die they never really leave. If there is a head honcho demon, he would live there."

"Then we go to Higurashi Shrine." Sango said.

"Whoa, do you have a death wish?" Inuyasha asked. "That hill is the highest populated demon area."

"Probably because of the box." Kagome said. "Pandora's Box used to be in my back shed, they're probably drawn to it."

"That doesn't make sense." Miroku said shaking his head. "They've been trapped in that box for centuries, why would they stay with it? If anything the Higurashi Shrine would be completely abandoned in that case. No, it's got to be something else. Something that draws them there."

"Well, we could always go find out what it is." Sango said, eager to go now that she decided what she wanted to do. She was happy no one was questioning her sudden desire to go with them, they just accepted it.

"Again with your death wish." Inuyasha shook his head.

"We go in cautious, we go in armed, and we kick serious demon ass. I don't know about you, but I feel that with our powers we could do it. We're not weak like we were before. We can fight now." Sango said enthusiastically, looking around that their faces. "No? Come on, guys. You guys are the ones who were ready to die for this."

"Yeah, but not before we could re-seal them." Kagome said trying not to think of her impending death.

"Inuyasha, you're with me right? Think of how many points we could rack up by going to meet them." Sango said to him. "And you know you want to test yourself against them."

"We go in armed." Inuyasha said, then he smirked at her.

"You can't be serious." Miroku said. "We'll get killed before we even get close to the shrine."

"So we make it an all or nothing strike." Kagome said, taking Inuyasha's side now that he had picked one. If he went, she would follow. As if to tell him so, she slipped her hand inside his. "We either die or they get re-sealed."

"We should plan first." Miroku said.

"You were all up for dieing last night." Sango took his arm and smiled at him. "Some things are bigger than us, right? The longer we plan, the longer they have time to plan. Whoever he is, whoever is out to get us, is going down."

Miroku sighed and looked up at the sky.

The others looked at him, waiting for his answer.

He blew out another breath and looked at them. "We attack during the day, so they don't have the advantage."

"Yes!" Sango and Inuyasha said at once and Kagome smiled at him.

It wasn't that they were eager for their death, but this would be easier if they did it quickly, like ripping off a bandage. And, like always, Miroku was right. Some things were bigger than them.

* * *

That night, Kagome sat up in bed, staring at the wall.

"What's wrong?" Inuyasha asked, coming back from 'marking his territory'.

"I don't know." Kagome shrugged. "I guess I'm just..."

"Scared?" he said sitting on his side of the bed, looking at her.

"Yeah." Kagome sighed.

Inuyasha climbed in bed and sat next to her and put his arm around her shoulder. "I won't let anything happen to you." He promised.

"I'm not afraid about the attack. Well, not much anyway." she looked up at him. "I'm afraid of dieing and missing something."

"Missing what?" Inuyasha asked.

Kagome bit her lip nervously. "Inuyasha, you know I'm still a...a you know?"

"No I don't. What are you talking about?" He asked.

Kagome was blushing like mad as she put a shaking hand on his thigh.

Inuyasha watched it curiously, not sure what she was doing until her hand started moving closer to his-

"Kagome!" He said looking at her.

Her face was red and he could hear her heart pounding but her will was strong. "This is the only thing I haven't experienced. Inuyasha, I love you."

"Kagome." He grabbed her hand. "Just because we're about to die-"

"That's not it!" she protested. "I love you, I really do! Maybe it's a sick obsession from having been alone for so long but I don't care! I love you, I want you, and if I die tomorrow I want to die with the taste of you on my lips!"

Her passionate speech made him fall silent. He looked down at her hand and entwined their fingers. "I guess I'm sickly obsessed about you, too." He said looking at her playfully. "If you're sure-"

"I am!" she said crawling onto his lap. "More than anything."

He let her kiss him, her hands cupping his face as his fingers trailed along her skin.

"Kagome-" she cut him off by thrusting her tongue into his mouth and moving her hips against his lap.

"Will you hold on." he said, his voice muffled.

"Why?" Kagome asked putting her hands on his shoulders, admiring the way his muscles jumped at her touch.

"Because, 'I'm sickly obsessed with you' just doesn't cut it." He reached out his hands and stilled her hip movement. "I love you, too. And no matter what happens tomorrow, I always will."

Kagome smiled. "I know." she leaned back over him, wanting him in ways she had never wanted anything or anyone else.

* * *

"Huh?" Sango looked at the candle by the bed. The flame had suddenly jumped and was a good four inches tall now. "What is that?"

"Inuyasha must be extra excited." Miroku said sitting up from the bed on the floor. "Wonder why?" His eyebrows bounced suggestively.

"You're such a pig." Sango said. "You could just be having a very strong dream."

"Or dream come true." Miroku smirked."Sango, my love, we should-"

He was cut off when one of his books hit him in the face.


	22. Storm Rising

**Disclaimer: No I do not own Inuyasha. That awesome privilege belongs to Romiko Takahashi. Thank you! **

...

**Chapter 22: Storm Rising**

"Can you see anything?" Kagome asked nervously. She had good reason to be.

It was the first time she had ever left her house with the express intention of going to find a demon.

"No. They're all inside." Inuyasha said looking over the abandoned landscape. They had been patrolling the edges of the hill of her old home from a good mile away. They were now standing on top of a building, looking at the empty space. The demons were all inside as it was high noon, inside and sleeping.

While the gang was ready for battle.

In Sango's hands was a big metal bat that she had picked up on the way over from an empty sporting goods store. At her waist was one of Kagome's spray bottles of bleach. All of them but Inuyasha had one. And on the other side of her waist was a large butcher knife.

From their old house, Miroku had a gun in his hands. They normally didn't carry one as bullets were hard to come by but the old owners had kept plenty in a safe that Inuyasha had no trouble breaking into along with the gun.

Inuyasha remained unchanged but Kagome's bag was full of as many chemicals as she could fit inside it. The was a spray bottle of bleach in her hands, though they were trembling. Kagome wasn't really a fighter, her water was more for mending and healing wounds.

Behind them stood a transformed Kirara, her fangs glinting in the sunlight.

"Let's get this over with." Miroku said.

None of them were thinking of their death. Sango and Inuyasha were sure there was a way to prevent it, Kagome didn't want to think about it, and Miroku had accepted it.

They didn't know the outcome out this venture. Anything could happen.

But they did know that, one way or another, it was ending today.

The plan was simple, in fact it was barely a plan at all. In the brightness of mid-day demons were sleeping safely and soundly out of the light. They were going to run past all the houses the demons surely occupied and straight into Kagome's old home to find the big kahuna demon and kill it. Then find the box and pray like hell that they would know what to do.

Kagome was saddened by the sight of her old home. There was a large hole where she knew the living room once was and the ground had been scarred and torn by claws and teeth marks. Two of the old storage sheds were in shapeless heaps of wood and rubble and the only one left standing was the one she knew housed Pandora's Box.

"Inuyasha?" Sango said, her back to the house.

"What?" Inuyasha asked looking at her funny.

"Didn't you say you smelled no storms today?" she asked.

"Yeah. Why- Fuck!"

They turned to see what Sango was looking at.

In the sky, coming toward them from the horizon, clouds whirled. Dark, ominous, and heavy. They were the foreboding purple black of a new, and still very painful, bruise. Every so often a rough and craggy flash of pure light flashed across the sky. Bringing a temporary brightness in it's white hot path. These flashes were accompanied by loud booms.

"That looks familiar." Miroku said tilting his head.

"It looks like that storm from that night." Kagome said watching the clouds. They were moving extraordinarily fast. "Oh, no!"

"They're coming this way!" Inuyasha said bending down and holding out his hands for Kagome to climb on.

"But why?" Sango asked jumping on Kirara, Miroku right behind her.

"So they can come out and fight." Inuyasha said grimly. "We have to hurry."

Without another word, he jumped off the top of the skyscraper and fell straight down. Normally free falling over a hundred stories would have made Kagome scream but when she was in Inuyasha's arms it wasn't frightening at all.

Especially since he could and did cushion the impact with his superhuman strength and durable body and was off running before Kagome noticed they had hit the ground.

Sango, Miroku, and Kirara's descent was slower but they kept up with Inuyasha as he ran and jumped over buildings. The skyscrapers stopped and turned into a residential distract.

Kagome turned around and looked over her shoulder as Inuyasha was hopping houses, Kirara flying beside him.

"Guys! Those clouds are moving really fast!" was all she said.

The clouds, having been just on the edge of the horizon before, were halfway through the city now and moving fast. Even as she watched, wind began whipping at their hair and clothes and the temperature of the air bega to drop.

"I think he was waiting for this!" Sango grumbled.

"Miroku, can't you slow the storm down!" Inuyasha asked trying to bring more speed out of his legs which were already a blur of motion.

"I can try!" Miroku closed his eyes and focused on using the air around them to fight back the evil storm that was descending upon them.

After a few seconds, he broke out in a sweat from the effort. The storm began to slow but it was barely noticeable. Whoever was waiting for them, whoever was calling this storm, was extremely powerful.

"Demons!" Kagome yelled.

Where the clouds covered and shade came, demons began pouring out of the buildings. Snakes, ogres, toads, slimy things, spiders, way more than Kagome ever believed the city had held.

Yet even as they poured out of windows and doors and holes that they themselves created, Inuyasha was jumping up the familiar temple steps.

Kagome was even more depressed to see the broken and destroyed state they were in. It was more like a stone walk way than stairs now.

"Come on! Get inside!" Inuyasha yelled already running toward the hole in the living room wall.


	23. We're Half

**Disclaimer: No I do not own Inuyasha. That awesome privilege belongs to Romiko Takahashi. Thank you! **

...

**Chapter 23: We're Half**

Once upon a time, the Higurashi household had been filled with warmth and love. The blue sofa in the living room had been worn down from years of family sitting on it and two rowdy kids playing on it. Their TV was small but they had had it so long no one really wanted to replace it because of the memories it held. There had been pictures on the wall. A little girl growing up, a younger boy until he was about ten. An older, but by no means old, woman who was usually in the kitchen and a very old man with a sweet infectious grin. There had been a braided rug in the middle of the floor and the walls and floor were all beautiful wood.

But that was a long time ago.

Now the comfortable blue sofa was ripped to shreds and black with blood stains. The TV was a shapeless lump against the wall where someone had thrown in, left a hole, and knocked most of the pictures down. The braided rug had been ripped to pieces and the wood floor and walls were covered in scratches. Everything was covered in splinters. It was far worse than Kagome remembered.

Sensing her distress, Inuyasha looked around. "So where would this guy be?" he asked wanting to get them out of here as soon as possible. Not only that but the storm was still coming on fast.

"The back shed." Kagome decided suddenly. "That's where the box is...or was."

"Then it's as good a place as any to look." Miroku said his face still drawn in concentration on fighting the storm.

"Come on!" Inuyasha said jumping into the hallway and going down through the back door which had been torn off its hinges.

Kagome was sad to see that the hallway was in just as bad a condition as the living room. The stairs had even been knocked down. For the first time, she truly felt all the weight of her lost world.

But before she had time to asses the damage, Inuyasha was running back outside and heading towards the oldest, biggest, and the only one still standing storage shed.

The thunder was much louder now and she could see the flashes of lightening as if it were right on top of her head.

But the boom wasn't loud enough to drown out the sound of the many demon roars that accompanied them.

Inuyasha stopped in front of the storage house, then reached forward and pulled back the sliding doors and ran inside, Kirara only a step behind.

Sango jumped off Kirara and closed the doors, then they felt the ground shake as Sango built for large rock walls around the wooden ones. Then she placed another slab of rock on top to serve as a ceiling of sorts. No demons could get in until she moved the rocks.

While all that was happening, Inuyasha, Kagome, Miroku, and Kirara were focused on the scene before them.

Once upon a time, the old shed had been dusty. Strewn with old and 'magical' artifacts. Boxes had lined the walls, and many strange thing had lined the shelves. It had been a place where the very air felt old and stale and you were held slightly in awe of the old treasures inside.

But now it was all gone.

The boxes, the artifacts, the shelves, the dust; it was all gone. And in it's place was a single chair, a very simple recliner, and a very old box.

The box was open but it's inside was empty. Just smooth wood that looked as bright as the day it had been made. On the ground before it was a shapeless metal lump that had been the lock that had been melted off. From inside the chest, a strange glow was being emitted. There was nothing there to make it shine like that, but it lit up the whole room somehow.

And in the black leather recliner, was a man.

He was obviously a demon for he had claws on his fingers and his eyes glowed red but he had the shape of a man.

"Why, hello." he said politely as if they were welcome guests that had come for a surprise visit. "It's so nice to...re-meet you."

"I suppose you're the one behind all of this?" Inuyasha asked his eyes narrowing.

"My name is Naraku." he said calmly. "And yes, I am."

"Tell me something Naraku." Miroku asked finally stopping his fight with the storm. There was no point now as it had already passed over their heads and Sango had protected them as best she could. "Why are you shaped like that?"

"Like what?" he asked tilting his head to the side. "Oh, you mean, why do I have a human shape. Well that's easy, I'm half."

Inuyasha snorted. "_I'm_ half. You're a demon."

"No, I assure you, I'm half." He stood up, his long black hair trailing behind him. "You see, being touched by evil only makes you one of those thoughtless zombies if you resist it. When you accept it into your body, even want it, you get to keep your mind. Like me and my darling Kanna."

From behind the recliner came the little girl in white, her face still expressionless.

"You, of course," he looked at Inuyasha, "are the exception. You became half because of your powers."

"How do you know that?" Miroku asked.

"I've made it a point to know everything about you." he said. His eyes were like the pits of hell, Kagome was afraid to look at them in case her soul was sucked out. "In this and your former lives."

"Then you should know what we're going to do next." Inuyasha growled lifting his claws, fire encasing his hand.

Naraku smiled. "Ah, if you weren't trying to put me back in that box we might be great friends. But as you are, I'm afraid you will have to die."

"You die first." Sango said clenching and unclenching her fists. Kirara was riding on her shoulder in her smaller form, ready for her mistress to attack. "Then we re-seal the evil."

"Do you even know how?" Naraku mocked them, a smirk on his face.

Kagome grabbed her bleach bottle. Her water couldn't be used to hurt like the other three's so she had to rely on her trusted chemicals. "One way to find out."


	24. Death

**Disclaimer: No I do not own Inuyasha. That awesome privilege belongs to Romiko Takahashi. Thank you! **

Hey guys, I have a poll up on my profile. Which summery I should write after I finish this. So go vote, summaries are on the profile like always!

**Chapter 24: Death**

Naraku's first attack was like a lightning strike. So fast it was almost invisible. His arm, so normal looking, had stretched out to an impossible length and the claws on the end of his hand tore down Inuyasha's arm.

Inuyasha grunted from the pain but it didn't stop him from digging the claws of his other hand into Naraku's arm and setting it on fire. The flaming limb grabbed Inuyasha and threw him to the side.

The wood on the wall cracked and splintered but the rock wall on the outside kept it from caving in.

Sango lifted a large boulder from beneath their feet and shot it at Naraku.

With ease, he swept it away and Inuyasha had to jump to avoid it.

"Watch it!" Inuyasha growled.

"Sorry." Sango cringed.

"Inuyasha! The fire twister." Miroku said creating a mini tornado in the center of the room. Though it was tiny, Kagome and Sango still had to fight the wind as their hair whipped around their faces.

Inuyasha threw a fireball in it's center and the swirling vortex of air became a swirling vortex of fire and Miroku moved it so Naraku was in the middle.

The other man grunted as the fire burned his flesh.

"Sango!" Kagome said her back against the wall.

"Yeah?"

"Throw a rock and break this bottle open." Kagome said holding up her bleach.

"Sure, but why?" sango asked lifting a small but very sharp rock from the ground with her power and placing it in her hand.

"Just do it." Kagome threw the bleach into the fire and Sango lifted the rock, aimed, and flicked it off her hand.

The swirling winds made the bottle spin away but the rock curved and hit the bleach just as it passed in front of Naraku creating a small explosion.

Naraku cried out in pain as the flames completely covered him.

"Inuyasha, black fire!" Miroku said creating tiny spears out of the air and throwing them into the twister. The tore and ripped through Naraku's skin.

Kagome and Sango had placed their backs against the door, Miroku was on the wall on their right and Inuyasha was in a far corner. Each one staying out of the tornado that had a burning, bleeding Naraku in its center.

Going from such a hot environment to such a cold one would be a shock that could stop the heart of a person, but they didn't know if it would have the same affect on a demon. Still, Inuyasha reached out and sucked the heat from the flames.

Instantly their breath turned white in the air and goosebumps broke out on their skin.

Naraku tried to shoot his arm out again but the freezing temperature from it before it made it out of the twister. Naraku cried out again. Having your skin being frozen and still burning from the fire was just as bad if not worse than having the red flames turn it to charcoal.

Sango lifted all the pebbles and many of the rocks from the ground and threw them inside, sharpening their edges to points to create sharp edged disks that sliced Naraku mercilessly.

Shivering slightly, Kagome reached into her bag and pulled out her bottle of Windex. Inside it, however, was not Windex but water.

She couldn't use her water to fight because while the other three had been practicing to fight with theirs, she had been learning to heal. But with a quick decision, she had emptied her Windex at the house and replaced it with water. So it was her normal weapon mixed with her own powers.

Kagome lifted the bottle much like you would a gun, said a quick prayer to whoever would listen, and pulled the trigger.

Instead of the shot of water coming out and being lost in the swirling wind, it shot out like a laser and shot through Naraku's shoulder before breaking into harmless water droplets when it hit the opposite wall.

"Cool." Sango said appreciatively.

Naraku was confused at this new tactic. In their past lives they had never done something like this.

The one who was now Inuyasha had always fought him with a sword, usually it was on fire, but it was definitely a sword. The one who was now Miroku had favored a staff last time and the time before had used his bare hands to fight. The one who was now Sango had been a strong fighter but her attacks were done with a large boomerang and the time before that, a short-sword. And the one who was now Kagome had never attacked before. She had always hidden behind the one who was Inuyasha, throwing water at the others to cover their wounds and keep them fighting.

But now they had all mixed their powers together and it hurt much more than their singular attacks with a blade or staff ever had.

He growled and created four tentacles. Like hell he would be put back in that box. He would rather die. He disconnected the four tentacles from his flesh and shot them away from himself.

The freezing fire froze them but it didn't hurt or stop them, they cut through the wind and flew straight and true to their targets.

Kagome screamed as a tentacle buried itself in her abdomen and next to her, Sango collapsed with one deep in her shoulder. Kirara, who had been on that very shoulder, got it straight through her heart.

Miroku's cry of pain was louder than both of theirs as the one aimed at him sliced clean through his right left, severing it from his body. And Inuyasha's went straight through his left lung, scratching his heart.

But it was a mistake on his part. The sudden pain and distraction from their focus didn't stop their elemtents, instead it made them flare and go rogue.

Without Inuyasha focusing on it to keep it stable and under control, the fire expanded and, instead of freezing black, went white hot rimmed in blue. The sudden heat from the sudden cold did what heat to cold hadn't, they shocked Naraku's heart enough to stop it. The wind became unstable and tore through Naraku's body. The water drops inside the vortex and the earth disks all shattered into tiny particles and ripped apart Naraku's body.

But even as he died, the other four started collapsing.

The right leg Miroku lost had inside it a very large artery. The severing of it was causing his blood to leave his body far too fast to stop. Sango had already lost consciousness from the pain and Kagome, despite her call to the water to save them, didn't have the power to call it. The tentacle had pierced her stomach and the acid inside of it was burning through her veins. Inuyasha had the been pinned to the wall. One lung wouldn't work, the other one wasn't enough to sustain his life, and his heart had a gash on it.

Miroku died first, bleeding his life into the floor around them.

His wind died with him making the fire sink to the floor and grab the wood and continue burning. It burned right through Sango who was unable to move because she had already passed out.

Kagome watched Inuyasha and he looked at her. He stretched his hand out to her, it was shaking from the pain.

Kagome smiled and blood trickled from between her lips.

"L-l-lo-v-ve...y-y-ou." she said, her breathing harsh and uneven.

'Love you.' Inuyasha could only mouth back. Unlike humans who could live with one lung, his body needed both to sustain it and he was slowly suffocating.

They could do nothing but watch each other die.


	25. Just A Bad Dream

**Disclaimer: No I do not own Inuyasha. That awesome privilege belongs to Romiko Takahashi. Thank you! **

Tsk, tsk, tsk. Guys, who said the last chapter was the last chapter?

**Chapter 25: Just A Bad Dream**

The light left Kagome's eyes first, but, as if his life was tied to hers, Inuyasha passed on only a moment later.

Then there was silence in the room, six bodies lay cold and motionless on the ground as the white fire died with its master. The only illumination was the light coming from the empty box against the wall. Outside, the harsh storm calmed as the thunder quieted and the rain slowed to a drizzle.

Then, slowly as if they had all the time in the world, four orbs of light appeared from out of five of the bodies. One from Miroku, Kagome, and Inuyasha, and the fourth floating from both Sango and Kirara.

They floated and circled each other, lazy and almost lathargic in their movements. The orbs pulsed slightly, as if they had a heartbeat.

Then they descended on the beat and broken body of Naraku. They started swirling around him, slowly at first, in a circle. But, slowly, their speed picked up.

They went faster and faster until the four orbs of light turned into a blur and seemed to create a perfect circle around Naraku.

A haze came off of him. Almost like a heat wave, it seemed to distort the air, and it lingered in the space the orbs had created in their circle.

And they continued to spin faster and as they did, a heat wave like thing start floating in. As if the orbs were drawing it in, the distorted air came in past the circle and stayed inside, trapped by a powerful force.

Beneath the circle, Naraku's claws faded and his looks diminished until a plain looking human man lay dead on the ground.

The orbs kept on spinning.

Inuyasha was covered in the same haze for a moment before it left his body and entered the circle. His silver hair was black now and his fingernails were blunt. The Kirara's body was drained of evil and her second tail faded away then there was a normal cat laying dead on the ground with her mistress.

From outside, the howls and roars and hollers of demons faded and disappeared as the evil haze was torn from them and into the circle. The demons outside morphed back into humans before collapsing on the ground, unconscious.

From all over the world, the haze left its host and the evil that had seeped into the world was drawn back to the little shed in Tokyo and into the tight circle that the orbs had created.

And despite all the evil that covered the world and returned to the orbs, the circle never got bigger. The haze got darker and more warped, but it never escaped the orbs grasp.

All over the world, humans were dropping to the ground, passing out from the transition back to their old forms.

The orbs light was pulsing brighter now, covering the evil in a power that it had never been able to fully escape. Trapping it again in its iron like grasp.

Before, the circle would return to the chest to be resealed, but this time was different. This time the four gods had joined their powers to reseal evil and their powers together had done what their powers separately had not.

The circle expanded for a brief moment, and the orbs stopped dead.

The evil hung in a warped and hazy circle in the center of the four orbs. But it was only for a moment.

The orbs came back together and crashed into each other in the middle of the circle of evil.

Light.

Sound.

It vanished. It all vanished. And a hazy wave of light encompassed the earth.

* * *

Kagome opened her eyes with a start.

She shot up and looked around her.

"What the-?" her body had been covered by the blanket her mom kept on the back of the couch. The room was dark and she heard a strange humming it took her a second to recognize.

The air conditioner.

Slowly, unsure, she stood up. It was quiet, but she could hear the noises from the city like she always could.

"What happened?" she asked herself. She was wearing her dirty jean shorts covered in paint splatters and the shirt with the matching splatters.

She walked slowly into the kitchen and heard the refrigerator humming.

"Electricity." she said in wonder as she opened it. The contents were how she always remembered them. "Is this heaven?" She knew she had died. She had watched Miroku and Sango die first then waited with-

"Inuyasha." she looked around but couldn't see her dog eared companion. She reached down but her stomach was whole and unbroken by a tentacle.

Scared, feeling the loneliness she was always afraid of creeping up on her, she ran to the only place she could even hope to find solace.

"Mom!" she ran into her room and mama Higurashi shot up in her bed.

"What? What? Kagome? What's wrong baby?" Ms. Higurashi started to stand up as Kagome stared at her. Tears were in her eyes and flowing down her cheeks.

"Mom! MOM!" Kagome ran to her and threw her arms around her and sobbed into her neck. It was her mom. She smelled the same, she felt the same, and she put her hands around her just like she always had.

"Kagome, what happened?"

"I missed you so much." Kagome sobbed almost incoherently.

"Missed me? Baby, we were watching TV together a few hours ago."

"No! There was a storm and...and the earthquake."

"Earthquake?" Ms. Higurashi repeated, confused. "Baby, did you have a bad dream?"

"Dream?" Kagome repeated. "No! It wasn't a dream. Pandora's Box and Inuyasha and evil and and..."

"Kagome, it was just a nightmare." Ms. Higurashi patted her back. "It was just a bad dream."

"No, it was so real. And you were gone, and Souta and..."

"It was a dream." Ms. Higurashi kissed her daughter's forehead. "Just a bad dream."


	26. We Will

**Disclaimer: No I do not own Inuyasha. That awesome privilege belongs to Romiko Takahashi. Thank you! **

...

**Chapter 26: We Will**

"Geez, sis. Why are you so jumpy?" Souta asked. He had dropped a pot in the kitchen and Kagome jumped so bad she nearly fell out of her char.

"Sorry, I' m just..." she didn't know what she was.

It was all very weird.

Gramps was still angry at them for cleaning the storage shed and when she questioned him about Pandora's Box he had given her a funny look. "That's just a Greek myth Kagome." he had said before returning to sweeping the grounds.

And upon inspection of the shed, she saw there was no ancient chest sealed with scrolls.

"Be nice to your sister, Souta." Ms. Higurashi smiled coming inside the kitchen with them, a basket of clothes on her hip. "She had a bad nightmare."

"I swear it wasn't a nightmare!" Kagome protested but no one listened. She didn't really blame them.

Tokyo was exactly as she remembered. News anchors reported the same boring things they did everyday and her friends even called her to ask for her help on their math homework, her best subject.

The wierd part was, she remembered all of the two years, but she also remembered the night as everyone else remembered it. She could clearly remember watching TV with her mom until she fell asleep. But she also remembered the storm and earthquake that was the beginning of everything. If she had been asked to solve a calculus problem at the end of the two years she would have forgotten everything about it but now it was still fresh on her mind. Everything was clear as crystal.

Except what was going on.

"I'm going to go lay down." she said and left the kitchen and started up the stairs to her room.

Things were much too clear yet still so confusing. She remembered dieing, that was still painfully clear. But she didn't know what happened after that.

And every now and then through the day she started getting flashbacks to things she never did and to places she had never been.

One had been her praying in a stone temple before a fire in almost complete darkness. As far as she could tell, she was alone in the memory, but she knew she wasn't. She knew as if she had been there that in the shadows of the large pillars was a man with long hair and a deadly sword who was waiting for her.

Another she had been in an evening gown. Not a dress, a gown! She had curly hair and a corset. She had been walking down a road in a park and on her arm had been a man. In the memory, she never looked at the man, she was admiring the trees and flowers and birds. But she knew it was a man with long hair and a sword at his side.

Kagome knew who the man was. She didn't need to be told because the name, names, popped into her head easily.

Hercules.

Jacob.

Inuyasha.

And hers, the girl's whose memory she had. She knew her name as well.

Deianira.

Sara.

Kagome.

They were her past lives. She knew it. The memories were so vivid, so real that she knew they weren't fake. And as the day went on she remembered more and more. Places, faces. She knew them all.

But it still didn't explain exactly what was going on.

* * *

"Excuse me?"

Gramps looked at the young man that had just ascended the temple stairs. He stopped sweeping and said, "Yes? What do you need?"

"This is the Higurashi Shrine? Right?"

"Of course." Gramps' chest swelled with pride.

"Is Kagome home?"

"Kagome? Yes, she's right inside." Gramps pointed to the house.

"Thank you." the boy inclined his head and continued on to the house.

* * *

Ms. Higurashi was folding towels in the living room when there was a knock on the door.

"Coming." she sang and finished folding the last towel and set it on the pile before going to the door.

"Yes? Hello." she said opening the door to a nice looking young man.

"Hi. Ms. Higurashi?"

"That's right. What can I do for you?"

"Is Kagome in?"

"Yes. She's in her room. Are you a friend."

"Yes, ma'am. Can I go see her?"

"Sure, dear. But, don't sneak up on her." she smiled. "She's a little jumpy today. She had a nightmare last night."

"I won't." he promised and Ms. Higurashi let him pass and watched him walk upstairs.

"Nice butt." she smiled to herself and returned to her folding.

* * *

Kagome was writing in a journal. She didn't want to forget a moment of the two years. The memories weren't fading but she didn't know how long it would last.

There was a knock on her door.

"Come in." she called out but didn't remove her nose from the paper. Her pen was moving quickly across the paper as she thought about what happened those first few weeks of those two years.

The door creaked and she heard heavy footsteps enter.

She froze.

Her mom didn't walk like that, her brother was too young to walk like that and her Gramps shuffled his feet. So someone else was in her room.

Caution born of two years of fighting for her life had her hand gripping the pen, preparing to use it as a lethal weapon if need be.

She turned suddenly, hoping to maybe catch the intruder off guard.

The pen slipped from her fingers.

"Yo." Inuyasha said happily lifting his hand in a two fingered wave.

"You...You're here." she jumped up and ran into his arms. Arms he happily wrapped around her waist. "You're real." she said burying her face into his chest.

His hair was black and his nails were short. His ears were gone and normal ones were in their place and his eyes were a dark violet instead of bright gold. But he smelled the same, and he felt the same.

"Miss me?" he smirked.

"Oh, so much." she smiled up him.

Deianira to Hercules.

Sara to Jacob.

Kagome to Inuyasha.

They were finally back in each others arms where they belonged.

"You act so surprised." he smirked putting a strand of hair behind her ear. "I promised to always be with you, remember?"

She did remember.

That night in the temple, when she had been praying to the Gods for their safety for when they confronted evil the next day. When he had come up behind her and placed a hand on her shoulder and told her that he would always be with her.

That day when they walked in the park, the last day before evil would escape again and he promised to never leave her side.

And that morning on the couch when she had been worried about their future and he promised to always be there for her.

He always promised and he always kept his promise.

"I'm just so happy." she said wiping away a tear. "I thought it was all a dream. I wouldn't be able to handle it if you weren't real. I'm crazy about you, remember?"

"Distinctly." he smiled, remembering their last night together.

Crazy about him, literally. All day she had felt anxious, slightly off balance. But with him back in her presence, the world had righted itself again. A hole in her chest that she hadn't noticed was filled. Two years by herself had made her terribly lonely, then he was there. By her side, like he always had been.

And she didn't care if it meant she had mental problems, at least she knew he shared the same problems.

"I just don't understand." she pulled back slightly and looked up at him. "What happened?"

"Well, Miroku has a theory," he started.

"Miroku always has a theory." she laughed. "When did you see him?"

"This morning." he smirked. "Did you know, he lives three houses down from me and I never noticed."

Kagome laughed.

"He's going to find Sango now. He used to live with her in those two years." he was playing with the tips of her hair.

"So, his theory?" she prompted.

"He said we finally did what our past lives had all failed to do. Defeat the evil, permanently. And our reward was our lives, restored to how they had been."

"Wow." Kagome said softly. "And..."

"And we keep our powers." he smirked.

"How do you know?" she turned her head.

"Well, I walked down the street and the sun wasn't hot." he admitted. "So I turned my stove on and touched it. Felt fine. It's a little harder calling up fire now, but I can still do it."

Kagome smiled wide. "That's incredible!"

"Come on." he grabbed her hand.

"Where are we going?" she asked as he led her out of her room and downstairs.

"To see the others of course." he said as if it were the most obvious thing in the world. "And I want you to meet my folks."

"Huh?" Kagome blinked as he stopped in front of the door. "You're parents?"

"Yup." He smiled. "You're going to love my mom."

"Wait." she stopped him. "Does this mean-?"

He leaned forward and kissed her gently. "We always have loved each other, Kagome. My precious Deianira. I didn't know you long but I still loved you more than life. My fiery little Sara, we were engaged to be married. Remember? And you, my fabulous Kagome. We're going to get it right this time. We're going to be married and have many children."

Kagome smiled and burying her head in his neck. She had waited hundreds, thousands of years, to finally get this. To finally marry her Hercules, her Jacob, her Inuyasha.

"Yes. We will."


End file.
